Cheap Guitars
by AnglcDmn1986
Summary: Elena married Matt Donovan when she was eighteen and broke her best friend's heart when she moved to Kentucky. Now, divorced and a bit down on her luck, she has moved back to Mystic Falls, not having spoken to Damon in over six years.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: This IS original work I plan on publishing; I have just transformed it into D/E fanfiction so I can get feedback. I'm only borrowing the names of familiar TVD characters. I do not own them, since they belong to the CW but the characterizations, plot, and several places like The Mae Flower are mine. _I'm asking my readers to please keep an extra eye out for plagiarism for this story. I'm going to be submitting it to publishers, and I'm pretty sure I'll get a million rejections, so the ultimate goal is to self-publish. I CANNOT have versions of this story floating around with fanfiction names. If this happens it's immediately going down. I will not let anyone translate it either._**

_I've been working my ass off on Cheap Guitars ever since I took it down for a second time. I do not want hate reviews for that. This a novel I plan on publishing on Amazon once it's finished, but the characters still work well for D/E AU/AH fanfiction. After some serious debates with myself, I'm posting it again. A LOT of it has changed. I'd just forget what you've read before. _

_I want to give a ton of love and thanks to Kate (thisismyescape) for betaing, and to chellethebelle for pre-reading. Kate and I started talking on Twitter because she's betaing another fanfic I'm writing (not posting for a while) and that's when I was like…screw it, want to beta CG if I turn it into fanfiction? _

_I'm super grateful and my stomach might be in knots a little bit because this thing has turned into my baby. I'm sending actual friends to this page because I want them to read it too. I'm impatient for feedback, and I love everyone who reviews my stories, so here's to hoping this doesn't turn into a complete disaster. _

* * *

Prologue

Elena nervously played with the ring on her finger as she looked around her childhood bedroom.

She was doing it. She was moving to Kentucky. She was leaving so she could go to the University of Louisville.

"Elena," a voice called, making her heart stutter. "Why the hell are you moving to Louisville?"

Just when she thought she was going to escape Damon Salvatore, he had to show up in her freaking bedroom.

"I don't want to have this conversation with you," she said. "I have to get ready. Matt is too excited about moving for me to make him wait too long."

Elena needed something to do. She couldn't look at him, so instead she sprang to action, pulling clothes from her closet and dumping them into her suit case.

"Elena, you've shut me out," his voice sounded broken and her heart clenched. This shouldn't be hard. She hadn't spoken to him in almost six months.

"Who let you in?" she asked instead of acknowledging what Damon was really trying to talk to her about.

"Your brother—that doesn't matter," Damon snapped. He gently grabbed Elena and stopped her mid-trip back to her closet. "Please talk to me? I was wrong when I left… I missed you."

He took a step closer to her, and dipped his head towards hers. Elena almost let Damon kiss her but then she snapped to her senses and quickly turned her head so that he kissed her on the temple.

"I'm following Matt to the University of Louisville because I married him."

Damon's eyes fell from hers as he dropped her hand. She immediately missed the feel of his skin against hers. She didn't realize how much she craved his touch until he was no longer holding her hand.

"What the hell do you mean, 'you got married?'"

"We went to the court house last week after he asked me. I didn't want a big wedding, so I thought it would be easier if we just got married at the Justice of the Peace."

"Elena—I—what the hell?"

Elena winced. She always hated it whenever someone raised their voice.

"I—damn—here, I'll help you pack."

Elena jumped when he yanked open her dresser and caused various knickknacks, perfume bottles, and jewelry rattle. He yanked her jeans from the drawer and then tossed them into her opened suitcase.

"It's okay, Damon… you don't have to help me. I have everything under control—"

Damon didn't respond to her as he continued to pull her things from her dresser. Elena felt speechless, and so she continued to pull things from her closet. They silently worked for a few minutes until Damon let out a frustrated growl.

"So you decided to just up and marry the second guy you screwed?"

"W-what? No!" Elena stammered as she set a dress onto her bed.

"Then what the hell, Elena?" Damon sneered.

"Well, you didn't give me a chance to make a decision for myself when you ran out of the room the next morning."

"You wouldn't answer any of my calls!"

"I had no reason to talk to you. I was busy making plans for college."

"I know we're both busy, and I know I messed up. You're in school, and I started my own business. You could have tried, Elena. You could have tried to forgive me, and you could have waited for me to realize I was being an idiot, but instead you married another man."

Tears sprang to Elena's eyes but she kept her mouth shut.

"I'm glad we never went farther than having sex on my birthday," Damon hissed at her, suddenly getting into her personal space and backing her against her closet door. "I had no idea your standards were so low. Maybe it's better we never got into a relationship. I want to be with someone who knows how wonderful she is, not someone who settles for the first piece of trash who walks by."

Elena sobbed as she stared up at Damon helplessly, unable to find the words to talk to him. To explain to him that she tried to forgive him so many times for the way he pushed her away, for not realizing he was just scared that they had something deeper than just a close friendship. She wanted to tell him she wanted to talk to him when Matt proposed to her, but she couldn't, because they were in a fight, and it tore her heart in two when she made the decision to get married and let him go.

"Excuse me," Elena said, "you're making my back dig into my shoe hooks."

"Whatever," Damon snapped, and Elena could have sworn his blue eyes became bluer when he was angry. "I'm out of here. I'd rather deal with Dad leaving Mom than to deal with this crap."

Elena remained frozen in the spot where Damon left her. She wasn't sure how long it was for, and that was where her sister found her.

"Elena, sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Kat, I screwed up," she sobbed as Katherine pulled her into her arms.

* * *

_Updates should be faster-ish on this. I aim to write at least 4,000 words a week (this is a prologue, so that is why it is shorter) since I want to publish it early next year. It's much more developed now than when I was first posting. Please, please review, and don't be afraid to leave something detailed (if you're an actual friend, this is not literature, so please do not read it as such). _


	2. Chapter One

Thank you very much to Kate (thisismyescape) for betaing, and even more to Taaroko for giving me a pre-read. Kate is amazing with catching goofs with original character names and such. Taaroko would beta for me, but she really prefers canon-esque fanfiction to AU/AH, so she's a doll for even prereading (and she got excited because she treated it as a student's paper. Silly girl… and she called me out for using too many "as" clauses.).

I decided to post chapter one because I felt like the prologue was too short. Please do not expect fast updates. I don't want to run out of finished chapters (there are six more, seven once I start chapter eight). I'll probably update once a week. :) There's a lot of work going into this one.

* * *

Chapter One

_Six Years Later_

Dropping her suit case onto the bed in the dingy motel room, Elena's muscles ached. It had been a long day. Elena had rented a truck and hauled everything into it with the help of one of her neighbors. She made the decision so quickly she didn't even take the time to give her rental company her thirty days' notice. She planned to send the keys in the mail.

"Oh, damn, no—"

Elena raked her hands through her hair when her purse strap snapped and tumbled to the floor.

"_Seriously_?" she groaned as she bent down and picked up the broken purse. She should have known the fake black leather wouldn't hold up under the stress of being on her shoulder with everything she had in it. It was also stuffed to the brim with her shampoo, perfume, and other necessities she couldn't live without.

Sinking down onto the bed, Elena sighed and opened up the purse. A white, thick envelope taunted her. She told herself she didn't need to look at it. It would only make her upset again. The envelope was the reason she'd fled Louisville fast enough to leave rubber on the asphalt of her apartment complex parking lot on the way out."

"Damn it," Elena said, pulling the envelope from her purse. She kicked off her shoes and pushed her bags off the bed so she could lay down, then opened the envelope.

"_Decree of Dissolution of Marriage…" _

Elena sucked in a sharp breath.

She wouldn't cry. She cried enough when Matt told her he wanted a divorce.

Elena shook her head and sat up, her brown hair falling into her eyes. Her phone started to ring in her purse, and she hastily shoved the divorce papers back into the envelope, balled the whole thing into a wad, and lunged to answer the call in time.

"Ugh, no, I shouldn't crumple them up," she said to herself, rolling her eyes.

Elena slid her finger across the screen of her phone without looking at the caller ID, she smoothing out the envelope.

"Hello?"

"_Did you really pack up all of your things and move last night?" _

Elena really needed to find a damn song to put as Matt's ring tone.

"Yeah, I did. I couldn't afford the place anymore on my own and we're divorced now. I don't have a reason to stay there anymore."

The sigh on the other side of the line made Elena feel like he was about to start scolding her. _"You know I still had some stuff there. What did you do with it? I still have some money saved up; I could have helped you stay there for a few more months until you got on your feet. I know this is a weird situation, sweetheart, and I've—"_

"I don't need your help, Matt, I've told you that." Elena still played with the divorce papers envelope. "I just wanted to get out of there. When I get my own place, you can go through the stuff and get what you need. You shouldn't have left your stuff there for so long if you wanted it anyway. You had almost eight months to pack up the rest of the apartment."

"_I didn't have a choice, did I? You changed the locks on me. Where is the storage unit? I want the guitar and a few other things—"_

"You are _not _getting my guitar. That's why I changed the locks in the first place."

Elena needed to hang up the phone. Why wasn't she hanging up her phone? It was because she realized she missed Matt's voice. It was deep, and thick, and he sounded like he could have been a newscaster for a channel like ABC.

"_Well, I still think you're being unreasonable about that. You never play it." _

"Was there another reason you called me, or were you just going to be a pain in my ass?"

Where did that come from? She was never argumentative with Matt during the whole divorce process. She just let him have his way. They didn't have kids. What they left the marriage with were the belongings they brought into it. When he told her he wanted a divorce, it was the moment she was done trying to motivate him to be something other than what he was.

"_I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass," _Matt said softly. _"I was actually going to tell you the band has a gig in two weeks, and I think the guys would love it if you would come because they haven't seen you in a while." _

"Is April going to be there?" Six years of marriage went down the drain as soon as April Young messaged Matt on Facebook. Elena couldn't help it if she sounded terribly bitter.

"_Of course she's going to be there, 'Lena." _

Elena was sure a scowl that could put the Grinch to shame spread across her face at the nickname. Why had Matt always insisted on calling her Lena? It had nothing to do with her damn name. She put up with it while they were married because it had been his pet name for her. Now they weren't married. He didn't have that kind of privilege anymore.

"I'm not going," Elena said. It was as simple as that. If April was there, Elena didn't want to be near her. She realized trying to be friends with that woman was hopeless the minute she met her and Matt said that was the woman he was leaving her for.

"_Don't be like that. Don't be childish,"_ Matt said. _"The guys miss you. They've been riding my ass about inviting you for a few weeks." _

She was childish? Elena started to say something to him but then a beep on her phone interrupted her. She quickly pulled her phone away and looked at the caller ID.

"I don't have time for this. Someone else is calling me."

"_Will you at least think about coming? I have told you so many times I don't want to stop being friends with you, and it would suck if you were going to stop supporting the band." _

"Yeah, whatever," Elena said. "I'll think about it." She quickly switched over to the other line. "Caroline!"

"_Did you get everything moved?" _

"I did. Are you home now for the summer?"

Caroline lived in New York, but she hadn't graduated from college yet. She kept changing her major and only took twelve hours a semester, and in turn this drew out her time in getting her degree. She frequently came home during the summer but Elena never came home the whole time she was married.

"_I am! I can't wait to see you,"_ Caroline said. _"I'm going to work for Dad over the summer at the bar." _

"I wish you weren't just going to be here for the summer," Elena said.

"_How are you doing?"_ Caroline asked, _"With the divorce and everything?" _

"It hasn't been easy," Elena said. "He still wants me to be friends with him. I've always been so calm and collected around him, but all I really want to do is scream at him."

"_I vote for screaming at him,"_ Caroline laughed. _"In fact, I could probably vote for a few other things too but I think that might land you in jail."_

Elena groaned. "You should be nicer about it."

"_I'm not going to be nicer about it, Elena," _Caroline huffed. _"He's a lying, cheating bastard and I don't know why you're trying to stay friends with him. Have you even told anyone else in your family that you got divorced?" _

"No, I haven't," Elena said. "I'm too embarrassed. What am I going to tell dad and my brother and sister? 'Yeah, so everyone was right, Matt is a total loser and completely broke my heart, and I avoided all of you for six years for nothing?'"

Elena could imagine Caroline rolling her eyes and pulling her blond hair to the side while she fiddled with bottles of alcohol on the bar. She heard the faint demand from a man for a Budweiser, and the corresponding clinks of glasses as Caroline poured the beer for him.

"_I don't know what the hell you should tell them,"_ Caroline said.

Elena gasped. "Since when have you started swearing?"

"_I moved to New York, honey, I had to learn how to swear at assholes pretty quick. You need to tell your family about the divorce." _

Confused, Elena switched ears with her phone. "What do you mean?"

"_I actually hoped you could come and pick up your sister. She's been here since eight and she's very close to the level of I-need-to-kick-her-out." _

Elena sighed, wondering why on earth Katherine would be drinking so much. It was Tuesday night. Elena didn't know anyone's schedule anymore, but she was certain Katherine spent a lot of her time with Elijah.

"Yeah, no problem. I can come get her," Elena said. She picked up her purse and fished around for her keys. "When you say close to you-need-to-kick-her-out, do you mean like she can't walk straight and she's belligerent or she's crying drunk?"

"_Like I'm pretty sure she's about to get into a fight because she's been flirting with another woman's boyfriend all night." _

"Damn. I will be _right _there."

—

"Are you kidding me right now?"

Katherine hissed when Elena pressed a damp towel to her temple. It was gushing blood and she couldn't tell if it was a deep cut. A broken Guinness bottle sat on the floor where Katherine had been hit by a woman.

"You are leaving right now," Elena heard Caroline say from somewhere near the entrance of the bar. "You and your boyfriend. I should really call the cops but I just don't want to screw with it."

"Stupid bitch was flirting with my boyfriend all night," the woman hissed.

"Sophie—"

"Are you really going to try to defend yourself right now?"

"Hey. I told you to get the hell out of my bar," Caroline said. "You want me to call my dad from the back? I will, and if I do neither one of you are going to like it."

Katherine pushed Elena aside.

"Yeah, be lucky we're not calling the cops on your ass!" said Katherine.

"Kat!" Elena forced Katherine back further in an attempt to protect her in case the woman tried to attack her again once she started shrieking. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed as she pressed the towel back to her sister's temple.

"Stupid bitch hit me with a beer bottle is what," Katherine muttered, wincing as she brought her hand to her head. Elena swatted it away.

"You were coming onto another woman's man when you have a fiancé! My god, how much did Caroline let you drink?"

"I dunno. I know I started drinking beer, and then I had a few shots of whiskey—_ow! _Would you stop pressing that so hard against my face?"

"Sorry," Elena sighed. She eased her pressure against Katherine's cut. "I just don't understand what brought on this sudden behavior, Kat. As far as I was aware, you're super happy with Elijah. Where is he tonight?"

Katherine scowled at Elena and clumsily moved to another barstool.

"Why aren't you with _your _perfect husband in Louisville? Why do you have to come and ruin my fun?"

"You did not just say you were having fun when someone just assaulted you."

"I'm so glad those morons left," Caroline said. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Katherine. "You realize I have to ask you to leave now too, right?"

"Aw," Katherine said, pouting. "Are you really going to make me go?"

"I think you should take her to the hospital, Elena. I saw it when Sophie hit her. She's lucky shards didn't go into her eye."

Elena nodded. "You probably need stitches, come on."

Katherine slapped away Elena's hand when she reached for her. "Screw you. I don't see you in six years and now you're trying to reverse our roles and act like the concerned big sister. I'd rather have another beer, Caroline."

"I told you that you have to leave," Caroline said, stepping behind the bar.

"I really can't stay here?"

"No, you really can't."

The Mae Flower had rooms upstairs which functioned as a place for guests to stay as an inn but the downstairs was where customers really wanted to be. Caroline's father opened shortly after he moved to Virginia. Caroline's middle name was Mae, and that was where Bill had gotten the inspiration for naming it. The bar itself took up a majority of the back room. Elena was certain it was made of oak, with Celtic knot work carved into the corners of the extensive bar top. Behind the bar, a model of an old ship sat on a top shelf above the alcohol. Several large unfinished pillars were scattered throughout downstairs with a small stage in a corner near the front door where Karaoke nights were often held.

Elena missed this place, but she didn't have time to dwell on it as she looked at her wobbly sister.

"I can have you thrown in the Drunk Tank," Elena said, "or you can let me take you to the hospital."

"I'm not going to the hospital," Katherine snarled. "Screw that. I will drive home before I let you take me there."

"Well—"

"You aren't calling the damn police on me either, and you know it."

From her peripheral vision, Elena saw Caroline shift uncomfortably. When the Gilbert sisters got into a staring contest, it never ended well. It usually turned into a lot of shouting and even uglier crying. The urge to yell at her sister for her recklessness bubbled on the tip of Elena's tongue, but she held back.

"Fine. I'm going to take you home, and there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

Katherine shrugged and stood up. "Give me the towel."

Elena hesitated for a moment. Katherine's legs wobbled as she stood.

"Let me see the cut first."

"No way are you touching it, it hurts too much."

"I'll give you the towel but I want to see the cut first. If you don't let me look at it, I _will _take you to the hospital."

"Fine," Katherine said. She dropped back onto a stool.

"You need stitches," Elena said with a sigh.

"Forget it, I'll tape it. I'm not going back to the hospital."

"Back?"

Caroline let off a loud sigh. "I am really sorry girls, but the bar does have to close and I can't let you stay in here unless you want to rent a room for the night. I'd help you force Katherine to the hospital but—"

"No, it's okay." Elena said. "Come on, honey." Elena reached for Katherine's hand. "Maybe we should call Elijah. I'm sure he's really worried about you."

"Get away from me," Katherine said. "You do not get to speak to me like you're a sympathetic uppity bitch. I haven't seen you for _six __years_, Elena."

Katherine stood unsteadily, stumbling toward the exit of the bar. Elena worried Katherine would break one of her ankles when her heels scuffed the wood floor of the bar as she walked outside.

"Go after her," Caroline said quietly. "She needs you right now."

"I just don't understand what is wrong with her…" Elena sighed.

"She'll tell you," Caroline said.

"Is there something you know that I don't?"

"Well, are you coming or not?" her sister grumbled.

Elena and Caroline said their goodbyes, and Elena quickly hurried after Katherine.

"You know what? You'll be seeing a lot more of me now." Elena quickly grabbed Katherine when she stumbled down the bar steps. "Matt and I got divorced, but that doesn't matter. I'm sure Elijah is worried about you."

"You got divorced?" Katherine asked, sobering at that detail.

For the first time that night, Elena got a decent look at her sister. Her long, brown hair was fashioned into mermaid curls which wildly flew in different directions down her back. Her eyeliner was too heavy and black around her eyes and she looked like she had lost some weight from the last time Elena saw her, but Elena also realized the last time they had seen each other, Elena had been an eighteen year old fresh from high school graduation who had just gotten married.

"Yeah," she said softly. "We're divorced."

"This is rich!" Katherine laughed loudly. "You don't get to be so high and mighty about me not calling my fiancé when your marriage fell apart," she snapped as she wobbled on her high heels.

Elena closed her eyes and tried to brush off the sudden onslaught of tears welling in her eyes. Katherine had to do it, didn't she? She had to hit below the belt.

Angrily, Elena dug her nails into Katherine's arms and dragged her to the parking lot. "Shut up, Katherine. Get in my damn car."

Katherine burst into giggles. "You don't drive a car. You drive a beat up Soccer Mom mobile. You need a real vehicle, like a Chevy 2500—"

"Stop, Katherine," Elena said. She loved her Caprice. It was old, and the door handles were falling apart, but she loved all the room, never mind that it was a station wagon. It came in handy when she was shoving most of her belongings from her apartment into the car when she moved out.

"No, really." Katherine pulled away from Elena and walked down the parking lot, digging in her pockets. Elena had no choice but to follow her. "You should drive my truck. Chevy 2500," she pointed to a large black truck.

"I am _not _driving that thing. You only drive a stick."

Katherine nodded happily and grabbed Elena's hand to shove the keys into her palm. "Yes. Drive me home."

Elena threw her hands up in exasperation. "That's it. I'm calling Elijah."

"_No!_" Katherine cried. "No, I _told _you we had a fight earlier." Katherine grabbed Elena's shoulder to steady herself. "Please? I'm embarrassed enough as it is."

"Then _get _in my car," Elena said.

Katherine took a step away from Elena and tried to walk on her own. Elena tried to stop Katherine, afraid she would fall on her face.

Katherine snorted. "I can stand." She almost tripped, and Elena quickly reached for her. "I've got a strong tolerance!"

"Yeah, you're _really _able to hold your liquor," Elena sighed. "Elijah would be so worried about you right now if he knew what was going on."

Without warning, Katherine dropped her head into her hands and burst into sobs. "Screw Elijah! But I guess we do that all the time, so maybe that's our problem!"

"_Katherine,_" Elena said, mortified. "What is _wrong _with you?"

Elena could only stare at Katherine in shock as she sobbed loudly. It clicked in Elena's brain that it wasn't a good idea to let Katherine cry in the middle of a parking lot and so she quietly took Katherine's hand and led her to her Caprice. Once there, Elena took Katherine into her arms and hugged her. She tightened her arms around Katherine and just let her cry a few minutes.

"Talk to me, sweetie." Elena finally said. "Why are you mad at Elijah?"

"I—I had a second miscarriage."

Elena took in a sharp breath.

"I think he blames me," Katherine mumbled into Elena's shoulder. Her tears soaked through Elena's jacket.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm sure he doesn't blame you." Gently, Elena made Katherine step away a second so she could open the passenger door. When she was sure Katherine was safely buckled in with the seat belt, Elena walked to the other side of her Caprice and climbed inside.

"I'm sure he does," Katherine sniffled. "He wants a son. I want to give him a son. He's _finally _in a good place with his job and we fully own our house and—God, Elena, why does my uterus suck?" Katherine sobbed.

Elena sighed as she put her key in the ignition. "I didn't even know you had a miscarriage the first time… Let's get you home, okay?"

Katherine sniffled again and nodded. "I'm so sorry you and Matt got divorced. Men suck."

* * *

**I cannot stress how much reviews on this story, in particular, mean to me. **

That being said, I hope you enjoyed! 'Til next time.

In a few days Taaroko and I should _hopefully _be posting the next ATT chapter, by the way.

Follow me on Twitter: anglcdmn1986


	3. Chapter Two

**I've been changing this story around so much, there might be some grammatical/character/setting issues that Kate or I might not catch. If you see anything please let me know immediately in a PM on the site. **

I thought I'd go ahead and post this today since it's finished and I'm antsy when I have stuff done to post it.

Thank you very much to Kate (thisismyescape) for betaing.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. It's actually my birthday (just turned twenty-seven). I'd highly appreciate it if you left me a review. :)

* * *

Chapter Two

Damon groaned and reached underneath his pillow for his ringing cell phone, and then groaned even louder when he saw who it was that was calling him.

"Mikaeslon? What is it?"

"Sorry, brother. Did I wake you up?"

"You did."

Elijah sighed on the other side of the phone. "I could really use a drinking buddy right now."

"What time is it?"

"I don't know... It's," Elijah paused for a second, and Damon figured he was probably looking at the screen of his cell, "ten at night. You go to bed too early."

As Damon threw the covers off his body, a waft of air made the skin of his bare ass freeze. Had his sister turned the thermostat back down to sixty degrees? As his skin protested, he could only imagine that was what it was.

"Give me twenty minutes and I'll be there," Damon said.

"Thanks, man." Elijah disconnected the call.

Elijah worked for him at Salvatore Auto-parts, the shop Damon had opened with the help of Katherine's father six years ago. Elijah was like a brother to Damon, so it was only natural that they found houses in the same neighborhood. Well, that and good luck. Damon turned on his lamp that sat in top of his bedside table and rubbed his face. He hadn't been asleep too long, but he had to open early if he wanted to finish one of the jobs he had by Friday.

Once he was dressed, Damon jogged downstairs and walked over to his thermostat. His sister, Anna, lay on the couch with her daughter Amy. They were underneath a blanket and Amy slept on Anna's chest.

"Did you _really _have to turn it down so low?"

"You know I get hot too fast. Where are you going?" Anna whispered over the volume of the TV as loud as she could without waking Amy. "I thought you went to sleep."

Six months ago his sister had moved in with him. Anna had been in desperate need of a place to stay after her boyfriend got deported back to Canada. He had stayed in the States too long without a Visa or the proper permission to actually live in the country, and Anna hadn't exactly been eager to marry T.J. He wasn't Amy's father but he had been there for her since she was two months old, so he was like her father-figure. Anna panicked so severely after he got deported about paying bills and how she was going to take care of her daughter that Damon didn't hesitate to let her move in with him.

"I did, but I'm heading to Elijah and Katherine's because he needs something. I don't think I'll be gone for too long."

"Okay, have fun." Anna smiled at him and rubbed Amy's back after she readjusted the blanket on top of them.

—

"You're watching the Steeler's game?" Damon asked after he sat down on the couch at Elijah's.

"Yeah. Have to admit, I love having ESPN," Elijah said as he came into the living room with two beers and handed one to Damon.

"Did you really ask me to come over and watch football, drink, and shoot the shit when you know I have to replace that engine in the Mustang tomorrow?" Damon wrapped his hand around the top of the beer bottle and twisted of the top. He tossed it onto the coffee table in front of him and kicked off his shoes, stretching out his legs for a second before he threw his feet onto the table.

"I'll help you with that tomorrow," Elijah offered, "we should be able to get it finished before Grayson has to put it up for resale."

"The man brings us good business," Damon said.

"It's strange working with Grayson sometimes because one day he might be my father-in-law, but he's an awesome guy."

Damon almost choked on his beer. "What do you mean _might?"_

Elijah groaned and threw his head back onto the couch. Damon patiently waited for his answer as he watched the game on the television. It was the Steelers versus the 49ers. Damon noticed Katherine wasn't around to complain about the football game. He hadn't seen her truck outside when he came to the house.

"Katherine had another miscarriage."

Damon took a long swig of beer. "Elijah…I'm sorry."

"You know, I really wasn't ever sure if I wanted kids," he said. "But this was her second pregnancy, and I was really starting to get excited about it. I want kids just as bad as Katherine does and the first time she didn't even carry it six weeks before she lost it. This time seemed like it was going to stick and we are ready to start a family."

"You didn't even tell me she was pregnant this time, dick."

"She wanted to wait until she was in her second trimester even though I wanted to tell everyone. I guess it doesn't really matter now because there isn't a baby anymore." Elijah raked his hand over the top of his head and let out a heavy breath. "It was harder on her body this time. I found her passed out in the bathroom and I swear I've never been so scared in my life."

The two men sat silently for a few moments as they drank their beer.

"She's going to be fine though, right?" Damon finally asked shortly after the Steelers scored a touchdown.

"I don't know this time," Elijah finally said. "We got into a nasty fight right before I called you."

"I really don't know if there was a time you two ever _aren't_ fighting," Damon said. "Shouldn't you both wait to have kids until you're married anyway?"

Elijah took a long gulp of his beer and shrugged. "We live together like we're married already; it's one of those things that'll happen if it's meant to happen. I damn near broke off the engagement though."

"That _would _make you an actual asshole." Damon groaned. "You realize if that happened Grayson might get pissed and that'll ruin business too right?"

"Come on; don't make it about the shop."

"Well, I don't know what else to say." Damon took a drink of his beer. "I'm sorry that happened to you guys."

The sound of an old car text tone rang from Elijah's phone rang from the coffee table. Elijah leaned forward and picked it up. "Damn."

"What is it?"

"Hold on, I need to call Caroline," Elijah said. He stood and walked away.

Only mildly concerned, Damon sat back and watched the football game until Elijah came back.

"Caroline just told me Katherine showed up at The Mae Flower and drank so much she got into a fight with another customer. She got hit with a beer bottle. A friend is bringing her home."

"Christ," Damon said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah. I don't know how bad she's hurt, but they'll be home in a few minutes."

"Think she needs to go to the hospital?" Elijah tapped out a text on his phone quickly.

"Apparently she's refusing… I don't really blame her after what happened."

Damon set his beer down. "Alright. Which bathroom you want me to use?"

"Downstairs near the kitchen," Elijah said.  
—

The closer Elena got to Katherine's house, the more she realized she felt like a crappy sister.

She had her drama with her divorce, yes, but Elena hadn't even known Katherine experienced one miscarriage, let alone another. She didn't know why Katherine and Elijah weren't married yet, and she didn't know what it was that would drive her sister to go to Caroline's dad's bar and drink so much that she let her guard down until she flirted with another woman's boyfriend which resulted in a fight. Elena didn't know her sister anymore, and it made her regret her decision to get married six years ago even more.

Katherine was quiet. She had been most of the ride home. She bunched herself up in the corner of the passenger door and pulled her legs up onto the seat after she kicked off her heels and hugged her knees while she sniffled. Elena scratched her arm, unsure what to say to make her feel better.

"So which house is yours?" Elena asked as soon as she reached Katherine's street.

"It's one-fifty. You'll see our other truck in the driveway. The house is on the right."

Elena drove slowly down the street. "Oh, is it this one?"

"It says one-fifty, doesn't it?" she snapped. "Sorry…I guess Elijah left the porch light on when I left."

"You had a fight?" Elena asked.

"I didn't slam a beer bottle on my head because I was bored."

"Could you tell me what happened? I'd like to know what I might walk into." Elena pulled into the driveway and put the Caprice in park. The engine idled as she sat back and looked at Katherine.

Her hair looked wild, with curly brown fly-aways sticking out in every place imaginable. Elena picked up the habit of running her hands through her hair too much when she was younger. It was a habit she had learned from Katherine, who raked her right hand through her hair. She used her long, perfect red nails to comb out the ends while she played with the edge of her torn jeans near her ankle. She had stopped bleeding and the towel they had pressed against her temple sat on the dashboard. Jeans and semi-dressy shirts from used clothing stores was Katherine's thing, and it always had been. Elena was sure Elijah made a decent amount of money working for Damon—she did know that part—but Katherine hadn't changed much in the way of how she liked to dress. Sometimes when Elena looked at Katherine when they were younger she felt like she was looking at herself. Elena had the same hair, and the same thin body type, but now Katherine's hips looked fuller and Elena was pretty sure her breasts were smaller than Katherine's. Elena wondered if it was weight Katherine gained the short time she was pregnant.

"I want to keep trying for a baby. The doctor told me it would be okay. Elijah doesn't want to go through it again, he's too afraid I'll lose it. He also won't let me set a wedding date. We've been engaged almost seven years now, and I have everything planned. I accused him of not wanting to be with me anymore."

"Oh, Kath—"

"You don't have to say anything. You don't have to be sympathetic." Katherine let out a long sigh, and Elena truly wondered what was going through her sister's head. "I almost worry about what is going to happen to us."

Elena turned off the car and removed her seatbelt then reached for Katherine's hand. "You'll be okay, sweetie. The baby probably wasn't healthy. Things like that can't be helped."

"You know, you got married first. I'm two years older. You and Jeremy were both married, and Jeremy's wife just had a baby. Sometimes I wonder if I can't get pregnant because of my jealousy."

Jeremy was so excited when Bonnie gave birth to Luke that he called her at three in the morning and begged her to come see the baby. Elena couldn't, unfortunately, because she wasn't in Kentucky the night Luke was born. She had been touring a college in Indiana to see if she wanted to go to the program there because she wanted to get certified so she could be a family therapist.

She should have just stayed home when she knew her nephew was about to be born.

"Katherine, you can't think like that, sweetie," Elena said with a sigh.

"Did you and Matt ever want to have kids?"

Elena winced. "We should get you inside and get some sort of bandage put on that cut," she said.

Katherine groaned. "Elijah is going to kill me."

Elena watched as she sighed and then uncurled herself from her seat. As soon as Katherine reached for the car door and tried to open it, the handle broke.

"Are you serious?"

"I can't believe that happened again." Elena carefully opened her door and got out. She walked around and opened the door for Katherine. "I need to get another car."

"You _badly_ need to get another car," Katherine said.

"I can't," Elena steadied her as she got out of the car by firmly holding onto her left arm, "exactly afford that right now."

"When I'm sober we are having a talk." Katherine leaned down and picked up her shoes then turned around and wrapped her arm around Elena's shoulder. "Whoa. My head feels a little fuzzy."

"That's what you get," Elena said with a roll of her eyes.

She led her sister to the front door of the house and even though Elena couldn't see it clearly, she knew it was nice. Light from the porch lit up the beige vinyl siding of the house as they walked up a few steps to the front porch.

"Katherine," Elijah said. The screen door snapped shut as the girls got to the top of the porch. "Baby, are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Katherine said, stepping closer to Elena. "Head hurts."

Elijah stepped closer and smoothed some of Katherine's wild hair from her face. "I'm so sorry…"

"Okay well, I think I'm just going to deposit my sister on a couch or bed somewhere and get going," Elena said. There was a tension between her Katherine and Elijah and Elena had been through enough of her own spousal drama. She didn't need to see how this was going to play out because she was certain it would either end up in a break up or the both of them reconciling.

Katherine went to Elijah and hugged him before she turned to Elena. "Don't be silly. Come in for a few minutes."

"I'm surprised you're here," Elijah commented, glancing at Elena before looking back at his fiancée.

"I'm moving back home," she told him.

Elijah and Katherine went inside and Elena followed.

"Any particular reason you're moving back home?" Elijah asked.

"It's a long story," Elena said. She shifted from one foot to the other as the screen door snapped shut behind her. She didn't want to talk about it. It was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

Elena looked around the living room. It was very neat, with steps leading to the next floor near the front door. A wide screen television sat in the corner of the living room at an angle on a black table. A couch against a wall with a recliner in another corner, and both of them faced the TV. A coffee table that matched the television stand sat in the middle of the couch and recliner. Two shelves hung over the TV, with one a little higher than the other, with various knick knacks and a golden pothos in a glass jar as the center piece on the highest shelf. Elena stepped a little closer to the shelves above the couch as Elijah deposited Katherine into the recliner. A picture of Katherine and Elijah sat on the shelf below. The picture was of Katherine brightly showing off her engagement ring in her graduation gown. They looked so happy in the picture. Elijah smiled wide as his arms were wrapped around Katherine's waist.

"I always have time to listen to you," Katherine said. "It doesn't matter if I can't stand on my own two feet right now."

"I'm more concerned with your head right now," Elena said.

"Well, look who Kat dragged in."

Startled by that voice, Elena snapped her head around to see Damon casually leaning against the dining room archway. He kept his hair a bit shorter than it was the last time she saw him and he wore a simple white tank and a pair of blue jeans. His feet were bare—he very much looked at home, and comfortable, in his element at Elijah and Katherine's home.

"You," Katherine sneered.

"_Me,"_ Damon smirked. One of his hands flew dramatically to his chest.

Katherine pulled away from Elijah and she stumbled over to Elena.

"Careful, sweetheart," Elijah said to Katherine.

Elena was aware of the way the muscles in her back and neck tensed. Katherine held onto her and prevented her from backing up toward the front door. Elena wanted to bolt so badly the muscles in her calves ached.

Desperate to look anywhere but Damon's bright blue eyes, Elena looked away and instead turned and focused her attention on her sister's face. Katherine's eyes were narrowed at Elijah.

"Seriously?" Katherine asked.

Elena closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

What the hell was it about Damon Salvatore that made her dissolve into a mess? They hadn't ever removed each other from their friend's list on Facebook, but they hadn't made an effort to contact each other either. Elena wouldn't ever admit it out loud, but sometimes when she forwent attending one of Matt's gigs or if he was working and Elena had some down time between class she would get online and look at Damon's sparse photo albums. She didn't think he would still have this kind of effect on her in person six years later.

Damon chuckled. "I'm not staying long, Kat. Put your claws away."

"You are so lucky I'm starting to see two of you or I'd kick your ass for all the cat jokes," Katherine said, biting out her words.

"Here's the kit," Damon said to Elijah as he handed him the first aid. He then turned to Elena. He looked her up and down, studying her, and Elena shifted uncomfortably. He was giving her the kind of look he used to give a car while he assessed the damage. "How's the husband, Elena? I'm surprised you decided to show up after six years."

"Matt isn't—I mean—" Elena would not allow herself to become a stammering mess. She already felt the intense desire to flee from Damon's presence. "We're divorced," Elena said. "I got the finalized papers a few days ago and I moved home."

Damon simply stared at Elena. Elena turned her gaze away from him and focused on Katherine. She made her sit on the couch, and minus a few grumbled responses, Katherine sat down without protest.

"Dude, I guess I owe you a case of Guinness," Elijah said, breaking the silence which had fallen and left the taste of bitterness on Elena's tongue. He walked over to Damon and slapped him on the back. It was then that Elena noticed the beer bottles lying on the coffee table.

"You can pick me up a case next weekend," Damon said with a smirk. "I knew I'd win."

"What the hell is wrong with you both?" Katherine snapped just as Elena jumped back.

As she reached for her car keys, Katherine jumped back up and stalked over to the men.

"Jesus, Kat!"

"What the f—"

"I'm leaving, bye."  
—

Elena was just as beautiful as Damon remembered her being, if not more so. The last time he'd seen her, she had just gotten married at eighteen. They both did the social networking thing, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to really follow anything she did while she was still married to Dumbass Donovan. She and Katherine looked a lot alike—in fact, as they were growing up together; on more than one occasion Damon had been there to witness someone asking the girls if they were twins.

He almost felt bad for sending her out the door in a hurry when Elijah mentioned the bet he had made with him and their friend Alaric shortly after Elena moved to Louisville. He could still feel a sharp sting on the back of his head from where Katherine had smacked him.

"I may be drunk. My head hurts like a bitch, but I haven't seen my sister in nearly six years and you two assholes just sent her running from my house after I found out she's been through a divorce in six seconds."

"Aw, come on honey, I was just playing with her," Elijah said. "She doesn't know how to take a joke."

"You just found out too?" Damon asked, surprised. Katherine glared at him.

"Yeah. I did." Katherine stumbled and Elijah caught her. "My head hurts."

"You need to sit down, sweetheart," Elijah said, guiding her to their couch.

"Damon…" Katherine sighed as Elijah made her sit. "Please don't let her leave when she's upset."

Damon thought about it for two seconds before he bolted out the front door. You need to play this cool, he told himself, as he walked down the porch steps and followed the sidewalk down a small hill where the house garage was.

Elena still hadn't left. She leaned against her Caprice—Damon couldn't believe she was driving a station wagon—and he could hear quiet sobs.

Sighing, Damon reached out and touched Elena's shoulder, and she ripped away from him.

"I'm a dick," he said.

Elena rounded on him, huffed and wiped her eyes. "You're more than a dick. Matt is a dick. You're a first class, grade-A jackass."

Unable to stop himself, Damon reached up and wiped a stray tear from Elena's face. Her skin was just as soft as he remembered it being. "I deserve that."

"You made a _bet _with your friends over how long my marriage would last? Are you still twelve, Damon?" she asked angrily.

"You don't get to play the blame game, Elena," Damon snapped. Elena slapped his hand away. "We've both made stupid mistakes."

"You might think my getting married to Matt was a mistake but it wasn't. I was happy while it lasted." A security light on the street lit up her brown eyes, which were wide with anger.

Damon never realized how much he missed Elena. She hadn't been to Mystic Falls since she moved away with Donovan to Kentucky, and her family hadn't ever been able to figure out why. It'd been hell on him after she told him she got married. She'd been his closest friend, and being closer to her now, to do more than just wipe a stray tear from her eyes, wrap his arms around her and do all the cheesy apologetic crap that was supposed to make a woman melt and forgive was all he wanted to do. He just didn't know how.

"I don't see how you can't regret your marriage when you're still driving this piece of crap," Damon said. "I'm glad you're done being stupid."

Of course, as was Damon's way, he had to go and stick his entire foot in his mouth.

Elena sputtered as she turned to look at her car.

"My god," she hissed her head back around to look at him, "you really are still just the twelve year old boy who decapitated my American Girl Doll so he could rip her stuffing out. Grow up, Damon."

"She had it coming because she pissed off my G.I. Joe. The girl was a cock tease." Elena gaped at him and he nodded insistently. "She was worse than Barbie!"

"I'm not doing this with you," Elena said.

She let out a snort, the type of thing Damon had always found adorable whenever she tried not to laugh at him when he was acting like an idiot—something else he realized he missed about her. She turned around to her Caprice, key in hand, as she slit it inside the front lock and turned it. Damon felt the need to touch her again but he refrained.

"You're always running from me," he said, clenching his jaw.

"How can I be running from you when there's nothing to run away from?" Elena asked, turning back around. "You did the running if I remember correctly."

"I tried to apologize for that but—"

"I was a stupid girl and got married, I know." Elena sighed and crossed her arms over her breasts. Damon found himself distracted by them for a brief moment before Elena snorted again; this time in what he was fairly certain was disgust.

"You're always so damn difficult," Damon said. Elena crossed her arms across her chest tighter. "I'm trying to apologize to you. I'm sorry you got divorced, but it's probably better that you aren't with that idiot anymore."

"Even when you apologize to me you somehow still manage to sound like an asshole," Elena said. She started to turn again to her car, to open the door.

He grabbed her wrist and pressed her against the car door. Elena gasped softly and a small lock of hair loosely fell in front of her eyes. Damon gave into the pressing urge he felt to tuck it behind her ears.

"Don't leave…I missed you," Damon said. "I still do. I can't help it. I don't know how to apologize for this sort of thing because I know I hurt you." She opened her mouth to say something but he shushed her by placing his index and middle fingers against her lips. "You hurt me too. What we had that night was special and I cheapened it by leaving, but you didn't give me a chance to apologize properly. You married someone else."

A few tears slipped down her face and Elena looked away quickly. "Can we not do this? Please? I've had a long day and all I want to do is go back to my hotel and sleep. I can't rehash the past with you. We did the damage. We're not friends anymore, Damon. We haven't been for six years. Just let it go already."

Damon said nothing, and let her push him away from her.

He didn't want to let it go.

He wasn't sure if he could, he thought, as he watched her drive away.


	4. Chapter Three

Here's the next chapter, guys! If you're an _All This Time_ reader, Taaroko and I will probably post chapter twenty-six tonight.

Thank you very much to Kate (thisismyescape) for betaing! I also need to throw a shout-out to the little birdie on my shoulder. _Cheap Guitars_ wouldn't be what it is without her relentless ability to make me think straight on two-hour long calls even though she lives up in Canada and has to wrangle her toddlers.

*****I'm sorry if you guys find any errors. I am taking this from a novel and converting it into a fanfic is difficult because "merge changes" in Word doesn't like me.*****

* * *

Chapter Three

"_I know what I want to do!" _

"_Caroline," Elena giggled. "It's Damon's birthday. I think he should decide what we do." _

_Damon groaned and looked at his two friends, Alaric and Elijah. "Why did we decide to party with eighteen year olds again?" _

_Elena gave Damon a playful push. "Don't be that way." _

_Caroline stumbled in her high heels as she walked over to the bed. Damon, Alaric, and Elijah looked at each other as if to say, "Is she for real?" _

"_I personally think we should play a drinking game," Caroline said. "Don't you give me and Elena any crap about being eighteen, Damon. You wouldn't have access to free booze if it weren't for my daddy." _

"_Are you five?" Katherine asked with a scowl._

"_Don't be a bitch, Kat," Alaric snapped. _

"_Don't call my fiancée a bitch, Alaric," Elijah snapped back._

"_All of you should stop being catty and play 'Never Have I Ever'," Caroline said. _

"_Only _you_ would think that's fun," Elena said. _

"_That, sister," Katherine said, "is because you never drink." She rolled her eyes. "I think it's a good idea. We're all good friends. Why not air out our dirty laundry?" _

"_I think that we need to celebrate while we can. Anna already moved to Canada without us being able to give her a proper sending off, Damon only turns twenty-two once," everyone snickered at Caroline. "I graduated a year early from high school and just survived my first semester of college, and Alaric is about to get shipped off to BEF for the army," they all booed this time and Elena giggled at Caroline's outright inability to swear, "and Damon is about to open his own business."_

"_You are?" Elijah asked. "Since when?" _

"_Kat and Elena's dad is lending me the money," Damon said. "You can have a job if you want one—"_

"_THE POINT," Caroline said, "is that I think we're all entitled to stupid drinking games."_

"_Fine," Damon said. "Never have I ever thought Caroline was annoying." _

"_Hey!" Caroline gasped as everyone in the room took a drink. "Not cool." _

_Katherine smirked. "Never have I ever gone skinny dipping." _

_Caroline took a drink, and so did Alaric. Elena's cheeks flushed she downed a bit of vodka Caroline started to pass around. _

"_You've skinny dipped?" Damon grinned at the brunette. _

"_Shut up, Damon," Elena said. _

_He chuckled. _

_The game went fast as each of them fired off things to try to make one another drink. Elena felt fuzzy headed from drinking too fast._

"_Never have I been proposed to," Elijah said. _

_Katherine narrowed her eyes and drank. "Never have I ever gotten caught by an RA having sex." _

_Elijah and Katherine drank. _

"_Hey!" Caroline squealed. "No being a gross happy couple!" _

_Elena smiled warmly as she looked at her sister and Elijah on the floor. _

"_Oh! Me next!" Caroline said. _

"_You just went five seconds ago," Alaric groused. _

"_So?" Caroline said. "My idea. I get to have as many turns as I want to." She smirked. "Never have I ever thought about having sex with the birthday boy." _

_Damon had been in the middle of mid-sip on his bourbon—he declared halfway through the third round of questions he was just going to watch everyone be stupid—and he almost spit it out all over Elena. She scooted away from his arms while Elijah, Stefan, and Alaric all made a wide range of comical faces—from exasperation, annoyance, and shuddering. _

_Caroline burst into giggles and Katherine quickly downed a shot of vodka. _

"_Seriously, sweetheart?" Elijah asked. _

"_It was before we were in a relationship," Katherine said. _

_Elena knew her face was bright red as she took a drink too. _

"_Elena Gilbert!" Caroline shrieked. _

_Elena jumped up. "What? I wasn't drinking because of your stupid game," Elena said. She nervously looked at Damon. "You know I love you, Damon. I mean… like a brother. I—um—I've had too much." She turned to Caroline. "Can I have the key to another room, Caroline?" _

"_Elena…" Katherine started to say. _

"_Just give me the key," Elena said. Her voice sounded high-pitched and nervous. As soon as Caroline fished the keys to the bar from her pocket and handed one to Elena. She stumbled to the door and out of the room.  
—_

"_Damn it." _

_Elena's foot slammed into something and she stumbled. As it clattered to the ground, Elena winced as the room span and the guitar made an awful sound of strings crashing together as it fell to the floor. _

"_Why did I let Caroline talk me into drinking tonight?" Elena grumbled as she sat down. _

_She reached for the guitar, unwilling to let it lay on the ground if it wasn't in its case. _

"_Hey," Damon said as he quietly walked into the room. "Are you okay?"_

_Elena quickly nodded. "I'm fine," she said as he sat next to her. "That game just became embarrassing." _

_After a moment, Damon chuckled and leaned against the couch. "It was a pretty stupid game, but it got everyone drunk really fast." _

_Elena nodded as she started to fiddle with the instrument. "I almost killed your guitar when I came in here." _

"_It's been your guitar for two years now," he said. _

_Damon was right, Elena realized. He gave it to her at the end of her sophomore year of high school. That was the summer she decided it sucked that he wasn't around more for them to hang out together because he suddenly had more driving freedom once his mother bought him a new car. Elena even told him he sucked for not spending more time with her, because she felt inadequate and stupid for being so young and unable to drive yet because she was the youngest in her class, and that was when Damon apologized to her by giving her his guitar. _

"_I just don't know if I want to take it with me to college," Elena said. "I don't want anything to happen to it." _

_The guitar was nothing special. Just a cheap—as Damon had described it—Fender acoustic with a cherry star burst finish. It meant everything to Elena just because he gave it to her. _

"_Well, as long as you don't plan on having any crazy parties where you smash it after a gig, I think it will be fine," Damon said._

_Elena giggled at the thought. No, she wouldn't be having any crazy parties in college. Elena wasn't one for playing the guitar in a crowd, either. She actually enjoyed studying. When she got in college, she was certain she wanted to major in psychology. _

"_I think I'll be fine, too," Elena said. She hesitated for a second, but then handed the guitar to Damon. "Would you play something for me?" _

"_You should play something for me." _

_Elena shook her head. "I haven't heard you play for a while. I miss it."_

_Damon played a few notes on the guitar, as he seemed like he was trying to figure out something to play for her. _

"_Did you really take that drink just because you were finishing it?" Damon asked. _

_Elena's cheeks flushed with heat. "Um, well, I—"_

_Damon smirked at her. "You wouldn't be the first girl who wanted a piece of this." _

_Elena squeaked and hit him on his shoulder, "pervert!" She narrowed her eyes at him as he chuckled some more and then sighed. "I didn't mean it, when I said you're like my brother." _

"_Why didn't you say anything?"_

_Elena's heart raced as she thought about her answer and she nervously pushed some hair behind her ears. _

"_Um, what if I wanted to give you something else for your birthday?" Elena said. _

_Damon gripped the neck of the guitar, and his gaze shot to Elena. _

"_What do you mean?" he asked. _

_Elena scooted closer to him. Her hands were shaking. She felt like she hadn't drunk enough even though her head was swimming from the drinking game. _

"_I wanted to—Oh, screw it." Elena reached for Damon and kissed him. The guitar's strings sprang to life in a god awful, indistinct blur of notes as her arm brushed against the strings. _

_He kissed her back. Happy he wasn't pulling away from her, Elena slowly pulled the guitar from between them. Briefly, she pulled away from kissing him so she could put it on the floor. _

"_Are you sure?" Damon asked, as she came back to the sofa. "Because we've both been drinking—"_

"_I'm sure," Elena said. "I want you. Consider this my birthday present to you." _

_Elena climbed on top of Damon's lap and straddled him, a little bolder as her head continued to swim. Damon pulled her mouth down to his and kissed her again as one of his hands started to explore her butt underneath her skirt. She felt his erection through her panties as she straddled him, and Elena rubbed against him experimentally, causing him to moan into her mouth and deepen their kiss with his tongue._

_Elena's hands traveled down to the hem of Damon's shirt and she pulled it up. They stopped kissing just long enough for her to pull his shirt over his head. Elena's teeth scraped against Damon's as she kissed him again and ran her hands down his chest. She rubbed against his erection again, loving the sensation in between her legs. Damon left hand grazed over her breasts over her button-up tee and she moaned into his mouth. She pulled back from Damon for a minute to let him unbutton the shirt, and she pulled it off, but she still wore her black tank top. _

_Elena thrust against Damon again, and leaned forward to leave a trail of kisses along his jaw and down his neck. She moved back a little so she could reach his chest as she kissed a trail down it._

"_We're not doing this on the couch," he said. _

_Damon reached underneath and picked Elena up as he stood. Elena gasped and tightened her arms and legs around his neck. For a second, he paused to kiss her again before he started to walk. _

"_Damn," Damon said as the guitar flipped with another awful racket of noise. _

_Elena immediately put her feet down when Damon, irritated, toed the guitar out of the way. "Be careful," she said as she took his hand. _

"_I think I broke a few strings…" _

_Elena kissed him again. "Fix it for me tomorrow," she said, and pulled Damon by the hand to one of the beds. _

_Damon didn't say anything else. He only kissed her again. Elena sat when the back of her knees hit the mattress. Damon went with her, his hands going to the side zipper of her skirt and he slid it down, and Elena lifted her butt as he took it off. She found the button of his jeans and undid it, then slid down the zipper. Damon kissed Elena's neck while she reached inside of his pants and touched his hard on. Damon moved forward and kissed her, a little harder than before._

"_We're taking this slow, baby," Damon whispered into Elena's ear. She could smell the mixture of bourbon on his breath mixed in with his cologne as he reached down and took off his pants and boxers together. _

_Elena stared at him for a moment, and her eyes widened a little as she swallowed. She helped Damon take off her tank top, bra, and panties. Damon cupped her breasts and kissed her again. _

"_You don't have to," Elena gasped out when Damon's mouth moved to her left nipple. _

"_I'm taking this slow because I want to," Damon said, moving down her stomach and placing scalding kisses along her skin. _

"_I have never had sex, but that doesn't mean I haven't used a toy before, Damon...You don't have to…" _

_Damon groaned in response and then slipped his fingers between Elena's legs. The first stroke of his finger against her nub made her gasp out loud and press against his fingers. Elena almost said something in protest when he removed his fingers from her, but she shut her mouth when he spread her legs further and licked her with his tongue. _

_It drove Elena crazy. She reached down and pulled Damon's head away from her center, kissing him soundly. The taste of herself on his lips made her wetter. _

"_Do that later, I need—"_

_Damon did not need to be told twice. He parted her legs further and positioned himself over her entrance. _

"_Wait, I don't have a condom," he almost groaned. _

"_I'm on birth control already." Damon looked like he wanted to ask why, but Elena shook her head. "Damon, please?" _

_Elena took in a deep breath when Damon slowly entered her. He was definitely bigger than her toy and while it felt uncomfortable for a second, as soon as he thrust inside, Elena moaned, and clenched her muscles around him. _

_Damon took it slow the first few thrusts, but then he started to build up the pace and the rhythm. _

"_Mm…" she moaned, "that feels so good." _

_Damon responded by leaning down and kissing her, then thrust again._

"_Move your hips with me," he instructed breathlessly. _

"_Like this?" she tilted her hips upward. _

_They didn't say much else to each other, instead more focused on feeling. It was awkward trying to keep up with Damon, but she tried to keep herself from dwelling on it too much and closed her eyes as she tilted her hips up into him. _

_Elena's orgasm rocked her entire body so suddenly it made her toes curl and she dug her nails into Damon's back. _

"_Oh," she gasped, "Damon—," she moaned from another thrust, and he took one of her breasts into his mouth. _

_Elena wasn't sure how many more times Damon had made her come, but her head was spinning from the mixture of intoxication and really good sex. With one last thrust, Damon quickly pulled out of her, spilling his seed on top of her stomach._

_After a minute, he went to move away, but instead Elena just made him lay down on top of her, his chest pressed against hers. Damon tried to prop himself up on his elbows but she kept him there. Leaning slightly to the right, Damon reached up and pushed some of her sweaty hair from her face then leaned down and kissed her. _

"_Best birthday present ever," he said_.  
—

Elena shot up from bed. She sucked in her breaths hard and uncomfortably adjusted her pajamas. Her whole body felt like it was lit on fire.

That wasn't a dream. No, it was a memory. A memory she hadn't thought about in a long time, because if she let herself think about it then she would just end up thinking about how much she'd screwed up. Elena didn't regret the night she lost her virginity to Damon. It was a precious night she would hold onto because she wasn't sure she would ever be that close to him again. She was certain she messed that up when she got married.

It didn't help that Damon was an ass to her after last night, and that he reminded her of what they had. Elena didn't want to believe he would have any kind of effect on her anymore. She had enough to deal with because she needed to find a job and she had to find a better way of disentangling herself from Matt. After last night, she was certain there was something not quite right with her sister's situation, either. She didn't need the added stress of Damon.

Realizing she was soaked in sweat, Elena climbed out of her bed and walked to the bathroom. She turned on the cold water and dampened a wash cloth, and then looked at herself in the mirror.

She hadn't taken her mascara off the night before, and so she had a large streak spread across her face. She had a serious case of bed head with what she was certain a large knot was starting form in her hair. Wringing out the excess water from the wash cloth, Elena shook her head at herself as she wiped her forehead.

"He's totally got muscles now and he still smelled the same but you do not need to let yourself get distracted by Damon Salvatore," she scolded herself. "He's an ass."

Was she really talking to herself about her ex-friend?

Of course she was. She talked to herself a lot more these days, ever since Matt had moved back home to be with his girlfriend. Elena lived by herself for six months and had no pets, and she hadn't had friends she was close to in Louisville. Moving back home only made sense to her because she was closer to her family and friends. Damon had been one of them and she hadn't had time to run into her yet, but Elena was certain Anna would want to see her as soon as she found out she was home. If Damon hadn't been so intent on being a jerk to her the night before Elena probably would have asked him how Anna and Stefan were doing.

Elena jumped when she heard a loud knock on her door. She was certain she didn't tell anyone where she was staying, not even Caroline, and this wasn't the type of place to have room service. Setting the towel on the bathroom sink, Elena raked her hand through her knotted hair as she walked to the door and opened it.

"Elena!" Caroline pulled her into a hug.

"How in the world did you know where I was staying?" Elena asked.

"You really have lived away for too long if you forgot this is a small town," Caroline said, looking around the room.

"I guess I have," Elena said. "I want to say it's good to be home but I don't know that it is yet."

Caroline turned to look at her. "This place is awful. You need to pack up your stuff and stay at The Mae Flower."

"I thought about it, but I want to actually pay for where I stay and the prices your dad asks for aren't in my range," Elena said.

"I'm pretty sure they have cockroaches here," Caroline crossed her arms and stood away from the bed.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Dad wouldn't mind if you stayed in a room. In fact, he insisted I tell you to stay," Caroline said. "How could you not have money? Sweetie, I thought you were doing well."

Elena sighed and walked over to the bed and sat down. "I had to pay for the divorce. Matt quit his job at Pizza Hut as soon as he left because he couldn't commute between states. It was a combination of applying everywhere I could for graduate school and paying eight-hundred dollars in rent for my town house on my own. I lost what I saved quickly."

Caroline looked at the bed in disdain, then sighed and sat down next to Elena. She wrapped an arm around her in a one-sided hug. "I wish you would have told me what was going on sooner. I didn't like finding out about the divorce when I was getting on the plane to come home for the summer."

Elena hugged Caroline back. "Wouldn't you have kept something like that to yourself though if you alienated yourself from everyone else? I was too embarrassed while I was going through it."

"It doesn't matter," Caroline said. "It's over. You're home, and I really think you should pack your things. Katherine called first thing this morning and apologized for getting in a fight and then said you ran into Damon."

All of the muscles in Elena's neck went stiff. Caroline seemed to notice because she raised one perfectly groomed eyebrow.

"I take it that didn't go well," she said.

"How do you think it went, Caroline?" Elena knew Caroline wouldn't drop the subject of her staying in the hotel if she didn't pack her stuff up and go to The Mae Flower, so she stood and started throwing a few things into her suit case. "I haven't seen him in six years and the last time we saw each other we fought because I just married Matt."

"Damon missed you," Caroline said.

Elena laughed. "Is this something you and Katherine have decided? I don't know if she was thinking right, she must have had an awful hangover."

"It's not a secret he felt awful after you moved away. I was home that summer, I saw how much he moped around," Caroline said.

"Are you trying to tell me I need to forgive him?" Elena stopped mid-zip of her suit case. "I just got divorced. I don't want to deal with Damon drama."

"I just think you should try to make things right with him again. Anna and I have gotten really close and we spend a lot of time together, and sometimes Damon is there. He works with your dad's customers. He's your sister's fiancé's best friend."

"I'm not leaving this room if you don't drop it right now," Elena said.

Caroline shut her mouth and Elena sighed in relief. Instead of saying anything, Caroline made the bed while Elena changed into a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt, and then helped Elena gather her things from the bathroom and they managed to stuff the broken purse into the suit case.

"I'm not done talking to you about Damon," Caroline finally said.

Elena was in the middle of trying to comb knots from her hair when she turned and looked at her. "Okay. We can talk about him. I just don't want to right now because I do want to get out of here and I've got a lot of things to think about."

"Did you get accepted into any graduate schools?"

Elena did a small internal happy dance when she finished pulling the last knot from her hair. "I'm not willing to spend the money on that yet. The schools I got accepted into are out of state."

"I think it's a good thing for you to be close to family right now. When are you going to tell your mom and dad about the divorce?"

Elena bit her lower lip as she thought about the conversation she had to have with her parents. She was not pleased by that. Her father threatened to break Matt's legs if he ever hurt her and at the time, Elena hadn't been sure if she wanted to take him seriously or not. Her father was a car salesman but he also had been a boxer in his youth and fully supported the right to bear arms. Elena rolled her eyes at the thought of her father threatening to shoot Matt. As cliché as it was, she was certain it would happen if they came across each other in town after he found out about the divorce. Elena's father would probably just be relieved Elena was home even though she was certain she would be angry at Matt for leaving her.

"They don't need to know yet." Elena smacked her forehead. "I probably should go ahead and get it over with. If Kat doesn't open her big mouth, I'm sure Damon will tell Dad. They're still really buddy-buddy, aren't they?"

"I haven't really been around since I live in New York mostly, but Anna tells me how close," Caroline said as she picked up Elena's suit case. "God, did you shove your entire wardrobe in here?"

Elena slipped on a pair of flip flops. "Most of my clothes are actually in a storage unit."

"Did you think about moving back in with your Dad?"

Elena shook her head from side to side. "No, I'm not moving back in with them. I'm at a low enough place as it is with no job and little money, I don't want to end up back home."

"Elena…It's okay to ask for help, honey."

"I'm letting you help me, aren't I?" Elena asked. "I think that's all I'm willing to do right now."

* * *

So, now you mostly have what happened between Damon and Elena. Do you guys think other flashbacks would help the story (i.e. flash backs to when they first met each other)? I'm trying to write this in a harlequin style since I plan on publishing it after it's finished, so I'm actually a little torn on what I should do with it in some parts, haha. Please, please provide feedback—a lot of fan fiction writers depend on reviews. Not only does it inspire us, but it helps us improve as writers. I've noticed a drop in reviewing over all this summer (not just on my stories, either). Everyone who is reviewing _All This Time_ is amazing, but this is actual work I plan on submitting if not self-publishing, and feedback means the world to me.

That being said, thanks very much to those who have reviewed. I'm sorry I'm a sucky review replier—if you leave one for this chapter, I'll make an extra effort to get back to you. I'm not rushing off to get to work or anything—I'm just on an endeavor to crochet harnesses for my rabbits so I can let them in the grass in the back yard—so I have time to sit down and do that tonight.

Follow me on twitter: anglcdmn1986

I love talking to you guys!


	5. Chapter Four

Thanks to Kate for betaing (thisismyescape). Sorry I didn't send this to you a second time, hon, it was pretty much finished.

**Edited: 9/9/13. Just to clarify, Katherine, Elena, and Jeremy's mother is not actively a part of their lives since she's a traveling actress. Sometimes while I'm writing, I'll change my mind in the middle of working on a chapter. After you've written two four thousand word chapters in a day, stuff like that can easily be overlooked, no matter how AWESOME Kate is at beta'ing. I'm outlining CG loosely as I go so she doesn't have anything to go off other than what I send her. **

* * *

Chapter Four

Damon stared at the 2006 Toyota Corolla. It was black and had a smashed in front.

"How did this happen again?" he asked as he turned toward the owner.

He was a kid in his late teens named Greg. Damon knew Greg's family because they bought the Toyota for him as a present for graduating from high school. Damon gave it a tune up for them and he'd seen the excited look on the kid's face when he got the car. At the time, Greg had said he was excited about a car even though he wished it was a mustang.

"I tried to teach my sixteen-year-old sister how to drive it. She drove right into a parked truck."

Greg had a heavy scowl on his face.

Despite himself Damon barked out a laugh. "Your parents don't care about the cost of fixing it?"

"I'm home from college for the summer and they told me they'll cover half of whatever it is," Greg said. "Think you can do it?"

"I'll see what I can do. That front axle is destroyed. It might be better to total it, but I'll talk with Alaric and Elijah and see if they think there's anything we can do for it."

Greg groaned. "I really don't want to do that."

Damon was just about to try to explain to him that it was better that he just buy another car when his sister came into the garage.

"You stupid fool. You see Elena for the first time in six years and the first thing you did to her was make her uncomfortable." A sharp pain stung the back of his head as Anna's nails scraped his scalp.

"The hell, Anna, I'm with a customer!" Damon growled. Greg took a step back in surprise.

"When you're being a complete idiot then I don't care who's here. Mom is at home with a bad cold or else I'm sure she'd be here boxing your ears." She turned to Greg. "I'm sorry, sweetie, we've got a little family matter that needs tending to."

"Dude… Good luck with _your_ sister issues. I'll be in touch about my car."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Damon said as soon as Greg left. "I'm trying to run a business. I only gave you a job as our receptionist so it would be easier to manage the phones and I can't leave my sister and niece stranded with no place to go."

"You've been moping around for six years about that girl," Anna said.

"Katherine really needs to learn how to shut her mouth," Damon glared at his sister. "I don't see why it's such a big deal for everyone that Elena and I fix things when there isn't anything to fix. Did Katherine fail to mention I tried to apologize to her? She doesn't want anything to do with me, Anna."

Anna reached over to slap him again but Damon caught her wrist.

"I swear if you try that again I will fire you," Damon bit out.

Anna ripped her arm away from Damon. "I need this job, so I guess we'll call it a cease fire. I can't guarantee anything after we're off work. I've wanted to kick your ass up one side of town to the other since I found out what you did to Elena."

"She wasn't completely at fault," Damon said. "Besides, I can't worry about dealing with Elena's mess. I have my own stuff going on and I have a girlfriend."

Anna's eyes became wide, and he realized that if she had been annoyed with him earlier, she must be livid now. Damon hated it when she got fired up about things that weren't any of her business. She had been like that since she was eight and he was ten. She got mad when someone tried to pick a fight with him on the school bus. Damon ended up in a fight with the kid who was messing with him anyway because he made Anna cry.

"That tramp is a booty call, not a girlfriend," Anna huffed.

"Come on, don't talk about Bekah like that," Damon said. "She travels a lot because she's an archaeology student."

"Bekah isn't the kind of woman you marry and have children with, Elena is."

"Well," Damon said, "she's apparently the type you divorce too."

Anna gaped at him. "You totally are not acting like my brother right now. What the hell has gotten into you, Damon?"

Damon didn't answer her. Instead, he threw his iPhone onto a tool bench and walked over to the Corolla. He opened the front door and pulled the knob to pop open the lid, not that he thought that would do any good because he was certain it was jammed shut. He looked across the street to Gilbert Motors, owned by Elena's father, as he moved toward the hood of the car. The garage door was wide open so he had a clear view of Grayson's business.

Was he not able to escape Elena today?

He saw her Caprice. He hated that damn car. Elena wasn't the type of woman that should drive a station wagon. She needed to be in a muscle car, like his Camaro. She was hugging her father. Grayson had her wrapped in a bear hug and was lifting her from the ground. She had on a pair of black shorts which showed off her long legs in all the right places which made Damon think about the one night he had them wrapped around him.

"You try to act like you don't give a damn," Anna said. Damon snapped his gaze from Elena and narrowed his eyes at his sister. "You need to stop lying to yourself."  
—

"Elena, baby girl, what are you doing here?" Grayson asked.

"I'm moving back home. Katherine and mom haven't told you yet?"

Earlier that day, Elena decided she wanted to get telling her mother about the divorce out of the way. It went exactly as Elena expected. Her mom cried, and told her she wished she could be there to hug her, and hated that she was out of town.

Grayson set her back on the ground and took a step back. "I haven't had a chance to talk to her today. She's been busy with work. Your brother usually comes by here for lunch but he' is out of town with Bonnie so I decided to stop by McDonald's today."

"Yeah. I'm moving home." Elena smiled at Grayson as she took in the sight of him.

It had been too long since she'd seen Grayson. He was starting to grow a beer belly, but he looked sharp in the dress shirt and khaki pants. He kept the same simple haircut he'd had for years, short, but not short enough you couldn't see the small curls in his brown hair. They were the same curls Katherine had if she wasn't dumping loads of product in it to make it straight. Specks of gray highlighted his hair now.

"Where is Matt?"

Elena took a deep breath. She had come to see Grayson, yes, but she also knew she needed to tell him what happened with Matt.

"We got divorced."

There.

Just rip the band aide off.

There wasn't a better way to do it, was there?

Elena started to wonder if she should have eased into it more when he started to turn an angry red color. He hadn't ever been fond of Matt, but Grayson Gilbert was the type of man who thought once you committed to marrying a woman, you stayed with her for the rest of your life.

"What the hell do you mean, 'you got divorced'?"

"He cheated, and I wasn't going to put up with it," Elena said. "It's over. We're both back in town but I am going to try my hardest to stay away from him even though I'm still sort of in his same social circle."

Grayson remained quiet as he gawked at her. Elena looked around nervously and shifted from one foot to the other, and started to wonder if she should have asked her mother if she needed to worry about his blood pressure.

She looked across the street, deciding she was more curious about the shop Damon ran with Alaric and Elijah rather than to have her father keep looking at her that way. She saw Damon and Anna looking right at her. Anna waved, and she waved back. Damon seemed to shake his head and turned toward a car that looked pretty beaten up.

"Elena, I'm so sorry," Grayson finally said as he pulled her in for a hug and kissed her on the forehead. His whiskers tickled. "Do you need me to shoot him?"

"_Daddy,"_ Elena admonished.

"What happened? I thought the two of you were happy together, sweetheart."

"Can we go inside and talk?"

Elena didn't tell Grayson this, but she felt weird knowing that Damon and his sister were watching them from across the street. At some point Elena knew she had to go see Anna, but the thought of a run in like she had with Damon happening again within the same twenty-four hour span wasn't something she wanted. Add to the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about that night in Caroline's dad's bed and breakfast, and Elena was thankful it was a hot summer day and that she could blame her cheeks turning red on light sunburn.

"Of course, honey."

Grayson wrapped one of his big arms around her shoulder as they walked inside of the car lot's building. Nothing had really changed since the last time Elena was here. For a summer once when she was sixteen, she worked as a receptionist answering calls. Grayson led her to the back where his office was.

"Is that one of mom's newest paintings?"

Miranda didn't actually live with Grayson. She was a traveling actress, and while she had never made it big in Hollywood, she still was able to make a career out of it. That meant she was gone a lot. Elena missed her mother when she was growing up because she was gone so often. Sometimes Miranda also painted, and while she made a small amount of money doing that, it hadn't ever been something she was passionate about.

Elena looked at the painting for a moment. It had a darker set of tones and colors than her mother usually used. It was of a woman standing in the middle of a field with a candle. Not having much time to analyze her mother's work, she turned back to Grayson.

"She gave that to me about a year ago. If you had stayed in better touch with us you might have gotten to see her."

Elena crossed her arms and sat down on the raggy couch, closed her eyes and took in a breath. Why did she feel like she was in a perpetual state where she wanted to cry all the time?

"I made a lot of mistakes while I was married to Matt," she said.

"How are you doing? Do you have a place to stay right now, need any money?"

Elena took Grayson's hand and pulled him toward the couch so he could sit. "I wish I could say I wanted to take your help, but I got myself into this mess when I got married too young. I'm staying at The Mae Flower."

"That's ridiculous, Bill charges an arm and a leg for those rooms," Grayson said with a scoff. "You can stay in your old bedroom until you're on your feet."

"I'm okay. Bill and I haven't talked it over yet but if I can find a job somewhere in town then I'll pay him back."

"If you want an apartment, I'll just pay for it."

"Dad, you couldn't possibly afford that right now." Elena sighed. "I told you I got myself into this mess, I was the _idiot _who offered to pay for the divorce, so I'm going to suck it up and take care of myself. I don't want to burden you by asking you to fix it for me by giving me money."

Elena knew Grayson wanted to say something else, but they were interrupted by a soft knock on the office door. Grayson grunted as he stood and opened it.

Anna Salvatore stood on the other side. The last time Elena had seen her, she'd had purple braces and thick black glasses. Anna still wore the French pig tails, and her skin was a bit darker. Elena wondered if she went to a tanning bed regularly as she looked down at her own pale skin.

"I'm not interrupting anything serious, am I, Mr. Gilbert?"

"Oh, no, I think we're done here, aren't we Elena? I'm proud of you, baby."

Elena smiled at her father and gave him a hug. "Thank you. Of course, Dad."

"Well, I'll leave you two girls to catch up," Grayson said.

"Oh, there was a couple with a baby outside looking at a SUV," Anna said.

Grayson nodded in thanks toward Anna.

Elena stared at her for a moment longer, a bit unsure as to what she should do when she hadn't seen Anna in so long. Before she moved to college, Elena had been close with her. Anna was closer to Katherine's age, but she had been one of the first of the girls to get her driver's license and so they had spent a lot of time together shopping whenever Elena wasn't spending time with Damon.

"God, Elena, don't just stand there," Anna said. She held her arms open. "Come give me a hug."

Elena did just that, and Anna hugged her tight.

"I hate myself for staying away from home for so long," Elena said.

"Yeah," Anna said, "what's up with that? I lived in Canada for three years because I was in college. What's your excuse?"

Elena flopped back down onto her father's couch. "The real reason is across the street looking at that beat up car."

Elena couldn't lie to Anna. She wouldn't because she would see right through her. Anna had always been able to do that.

Anna heaved a sigh and sat down next to her. "You were busy with school and you were, I thought, happily married. I can't say I blame you for wanting to stay out of this town." Anna reached up and pushed a curly bit of bangs from her face. "Katherine told me you got divorced."

Elena huffed out a breath. "I'm so tired of that word. _Divorce_. I guess it's better than becoming a widow."

Anna frowned at her. "Now don't go and say that, you can hate the stupid jerk but you shouldn't ever wish death on someone."

"Katherine thinks differently," Elena said.

Before Elena came to see their dad, she'd called Katherine to check on her and make sure she was okay from the night before of heavy drinking. While Katherine was very hung over, she was very insistent that there were a few sink holes they could easily drop Matt's body into if they needed their father to shoot him. Elena knew Katherine wasn't serious, but at the time, it made her feel better.

"Katherine will hit a spider fifteen times with a shoe to make sure it's dead," Anna said with a roll of her eyes. "Don't you pay my brother any mind, either. The two of you did stupid, shitty things to each other when you were younger, and I don't expect either one of you to get along with each other right away."

"I don't really want to talk about either one of them," Elena said.

"Well, fine then. We don't have to talk about either one of them. I've got a little girl now," Anna said.

Elena folded her feet underneath her butt. "You do?" she asked.

"Yep, here," Anna said. She pulled out her iPhone, tapped a few things on the screen, and passed the phone to Elena.

"Oh, Ann, she's so beautiful," Elena said as she looked at her.

"Her name is Amy. She's four years old."

Amy was a beautiful little girl, indeed. She had bright blue eyes and dark brown hair, and a big wide smile.

"I feel like I've missed so much since I moved to Louisville," Elena said.

"I'm not going to say you didn't, because you did. How come you didn't tell anyone you were going through a divorce?"

Elena sighed. "I think it all came down to the fact that I was embarrassed. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with Matt, but he wasn't looking at it that way at all. He wouldn't have or else he wouldn't have cheated with me on April."

"Okay—wow." Anna shook her head. "This sounds like the type of conversation the both of us need to have with Caroline and Katherine, in The Mae Flower, with a lot of whiskey."

"That doesn't sound half bad right now."

"Besides, you shouldn't feel so down."

Elena wouldn't deny it.

"I think what we should do is throw you a divorce party."

Elena looked at her strangely. "Seriously? A divorce party?"

"Apparently it's a thing now. I think it would be liberating for you."

Elena had to think about that for a minute. A divorce party? She didn't really feel like celebrating her divorce, but she had to admit she was starting to become more free now that she wasn't tied down but a lot of Matt's crap. It would be a way for her to spend time with her sister and friends again, to, and to have them all in one place.

"When would we do this?"

Anna shrugged and held out her phone. "I don't know. Let's do the number exchange thing and we'll decide. I have to find a time when either Damon or Stefan can watch Amy or I can't go at all."

"Isn't her father around?"

Anna winced when she took Elena's phone. "Yeah, I sort of don't know who her father is."

"Anna Salvatore!" Elena squealed. "How can you not know who your daughter's father is?"

"Well, you know how things go like that—I was a wild party girl in college." Elena crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Oh, _right, _you don't know how that is because your lame ass went and got married right out of high school, to someone who _isn't _my brother."

"Oh for—I'm not ever talking to you again if you are going to give me crap about my fight with Damon continuously."

Anna laughed. "How can I not give you a hard time? I didn't even find out anything was wrong between the two of you until I came home the summer after you moved to college, and by then no one had really had a chance to talk to you."

"Well, I've added my number to your phone," Elena said.

"Great, I have to add something else, and then you can have the phone back."

Elena looked at Anna skeptically. "Whose number are you adding?"

"You'll see in a second."

"I don't want Damon's number—give my phone back!" Elena squealed as soon as she saw Anna typing his name in under new contacts.

Anna quickly pulled the phone out of her grasp. "No way, I'm not giving it back 'til it's saved."

"Anna!"

The other woman rolled her eyes as she tapped something on the screen. "Don't be such a big baby about it. If you really don't want his number, then you can just delete it later." She tossed the phone back to Elena, who caught it. "I better get back to work. Damon's business might fall apart if I'm not there to answer his precious phones for him."

"Yeah, I'll see you later."

Elena knew she wasn't going to delete Damon's number from her phone. She knew it the minute she opened up her contacts list and stared at his number for a whole five minutes. She would just leave it in there for now. She didn't actually have to send him anything, and she definitely didn't have to call him. Anna had always been the sort of person who had to meddle in everyone's business, and it was obvious she hadn't changed one bit.

Her father came back into his office.

"I think Anna was really happy to see you," Grayson said.

"It was great seeing her too," Elena said.

"What do you say we get out of here and go have some sort of lunch?" Grayson walked over to his desk and opened a drawer and pulled out his wallet and keys. "I'll treat you. We can go have lunch and catch up with Bill and Caroline at their bar."

"I think that sounds really great, Dad. Do they still have Reuben's there?"

"Yeah, they do," Grayson said. "You don't mind walking over to Damon's garage and asking him if he or any of the guys need something, do you?"

Elena knew when she came home she was going to have to see Damon on a regular basis but why couldn't her dad just ask Anna? Elena had a sneaking suspicion he could have, but her father hadn't been very happy when she and Damon got into a fight six years ago when she got married.

"Well, I guess I can," Elena said.

"Please don't tell me the two of you are still fighting," Grayson said. "Baby, you and Damon have to both learn how to put things behind you. You got into a fight with him because you got married, and you aren't anymore. You two kids were so close when you were young, I hate to see the two of you skirt around each other, especially since I'm so close with Marie."

When they were younger, Elena remembered a lot of barbecue's with the Salvatores' when Damon's parents were still married and her mother was able to actually stay in town more than a day or two before she had to run off with her acting group and leave for months at a time. Grayson had grown up with Damon's father and so it was only natural that once they had kids they grew to be close friends as well. Elena knew her father saw Damon, Anna, and Stefan as his own kids.

"Dad, I miss Damon, but it's not the easiest thing in the world for us to forgive each other."

"It's not that hard, baby girl. You march over there and tell him you're sorry and tell him you want to be friends again. You won't let me help you with money, so I won't let you ruin one of the best friendships you ever had even though you've damn near done a good job of that. I heard he tried talking to you last night but you blew him off."

"He'd had a few beers, Daddy, I'm pretty sure whatever he told me wasn't true at all last night."

"That's a bunch of bologna and you know it," Grayson said. "You know what, we're going to lunch, but I'm offering to bring Damon and Anna along. Go on and hop in my truck."

"Dad, you realize that's—"

"It's just lunch, Elena. I missed you and I'm sure Anna and Damon missed you. It isn't going to kill you to have lunch with a couple old friends. I'm not askin' you to let me promise you to the guy or anything."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Marie has been making you read too many romance novels again."

Grayson opened his mouth to protest, but Elena held her hand up and pointed her finger at him.

"I know that's what you do in your spare time when you aren't flirting it up with other women who aren't mom. Don't deny it, Dad, lying doesn't look good on a man your age."

Grayson chuckled. "Don't tell anyone I do that. You brother would tease the hell out of me."

Elena smiled. "That's just the kind of thing a man does when he has a girl for a best friend."

"You need to fix things with Damon, sweetie. I think it would make things a lot easier on the two of you."

* * *

Author's Note: I was going to make you guys wait another week until I updated but it was already finished and I got paid today, so I was in a good mood. XD There are three finished chapters left, but I'm not posting them yet because they aren't quite edited all the way and I need to be certain none of the original novel stuff is in there. Making sure that Elena lived in Kentucky but is now back in Virginia, for example, takes a little more editing (Elise, the main character, only lives in Kentucky in the original chapter, for example). I am going to add flashbacks, I've decided, but only in newer chapters I'm going to write. :) Hope you enjoyed! Be sure to leave a review.


	6. Chapter Five

Author's Note:

Firstly, thanks to Kate for betaing. She was there last night talking to me a little on IMO while I was writing an emotional scene in chapter eight of this story, and I think you guys will love it because I nearly cried writing it.

What's up with the not reviewing? This was originally a really long rant, but I thought better of it since I don't want to turn anyone away from the story. I was talking to Cher Sue, Elvishgrrl, and thisismyescape last night about the lack of reviewing going on. You guys don't need an account to leave a review if you're a guest, but I'd appreciate it if you left a name so I could thank you in author's notes. Go on now, enjoy the chapter. This one was a little short of 4,000 words because I think I was a little stuck on it when I first wrote it.

* * *

Chapter Five

The garage smelt of oil, gas, and other car fluids as Elena reluctantly made her way into Damon's car shop. Damon had always been particularly clean about his living space, but his work space looked like a disaster zone as she carefully walked over a pile of wrenches and bolts which lay haphazardly on the floor. Her dad was waiting in his truck and he had insisted she be the one to go find Damon and Anna and ask them if they wanted to come have lunch with them at The Mae Flower.

Why couldn't her dad invite them himself again? Elena wondered.

"Ow! Stupid son of a—"

Damon dropped what looked like a radiator on the ground as the hood of a crushed up Mustang crashed down where his hand had been a few moments before.

Elena didn't think as she hurried forward. "Damon, are you okay?"

She also didn't think about it as she took his hand in hers and checked it. He looked like he was biting down the urge to swear even more and a small line of blood ran down his knuckles. He hissed a little when she ran her thumb across the cut.

"I'll be fine," he ground out. "I should have known better and been more careful with a busted radiator."

The two of them became quiet after as Elena inspected his hand, and when she realized she was still holding it, she dropped it and took a few steps back. What was wrong with her? Elena internally kicked herself because she didn't need to let her get distracted by this sort of nonsense. She was a newly divorced woman, and no matter how badly she may or may not have wanted Damon to be back in her life (she firmly told herself she DID NOT want him back in her life because he would only complicate everything) she wasn't sure if they could be close as they were when they were kids.

"Well, if you're okay," Elena cleared her throat, "then do you and Anna want to come to lunch with me and Dad? He's insisting."

Damon wiped his hand on his jeans. "Grayson doesn't even need to ask. Give me a few minutes to disinfect this and get Anna, and we'll be outside."

"Great," Elena said. "I'm, um, going hop in my car and meet you guys there."  
—

"Bill!"

Damon sat next to Elena, having no other choice when Anna sat on the other side of Grayson. Bill Forbes was a heavier set guy with a double chin and a beer gut, and he had been was one hell of a construction worker before he opened the bar. In fact, Elena was sure Bill built the bar with his own hands. He helped Damon completely remodel his living room when he bought his house. Bill didn't miss working in construction, however. He much preferred a calmer life of owning a bed and breakfast and often told everyone it made his heart healthier by not being up North any longer. The Forbes family were originally from New Jersey. Damon hadn't been too surprised when he found out Caroline wanted to move to New York when she graduated a year early from high school.

"Grayson, how are you doing, brother?" Bill asked.

"I'm starving. Could the cook still fix me a Rubin?"

Bill scowled. "The bastard quit on me today."

"Seriously?" Elena asked. "I thought everything was going fine. He fixed me some breakfast this morning."

"Unfortunately," Bill said, "that's part of the downside of having a bed and breakfast. Liz is in the kitchen right now. She's not the best cook so right now all we can really serve is chicken wings and burgers." Liz was Caroline's mother.

"That sounds fine to me," Damon said.

"I'm not too hungry," Anna said. "I think I'll have a small order of chicken wings."

Grayson and Elena ordered the burgers. Damon caught himself looking at Elena a few too many times as Anna tried to talk to Elena about what her life had been like in Kentucky. He didn't get to listen in too long to the conversation though when Grayson asked him how the new clients were that he sent over a week ago, and if he'd had any trouble giving the car he had just sold to them a tune up.

"Ah, that kind of thing isn't even hard for me anymore," Damon said to Grayson.

He really wanted to say something to Elena, but he couldn't figure out what he could say to talk to the woman anymore. He didn't want to talk to her about Matt. He was sure everyone was trying to get her to talk about it and that she was sick and tired of it. She had been the same way when she was in high school, only then the things which usually upset her were when the mean Goth chick called her fat and she got rejected by the German foreign exchange student when she asked him to go to the Homecoming dance with her the first year of high school (Damon had swept in and taken her after he complimented her on her guts to go ahead and ask a guy to a dance rather than the other way around even though Caroline and Anna acted scandalized at the thought of a girl asking a boy out).

Damon knew how awful it was to go through a divorce because he watched his mother go through it when he was thirteen, and he and his siblings hadn't heard a thing from their father since he moved out of Virginia. He wasn't quite sure what he would do if saw Elena's ex-husband. He couldn't punch the stupid bastard, because then he would get arrested because Dumbass was that much of a pussy.

"Okay," Elena seemed to relent. "I'm sorry about being so mean to you last night," she finally said softly. Anna had gotten distracted by a few friends she saw walk into the bar and Grayson was immersed in a conversation with Bill about the Steelers game.

"You don't have to worry about it," Damon said.

"I still feel like I need to apologize." Elena sighed. "These past few months haven't been the easiest on me."

That's what you get for being stupid, Damon thought to himself. He wasn't going to say that out loud to her. He'd already said something similar to her before, and she hadn't reacted to it very well. She seemed to be forgiving him and he didn't want to mess it up. Elena always came around easy for him whenever they got mad at each other.

Six years was the longest they had ever gone without talking to each other… It had been some of the most miserable six years of his life.

"It's not anything you have to worry about," Damon said. "Really."

Elena sighed. "Okay."

Damon wanted to say something else to her, but it was right at that moment that Caroline and Bill turned their attention to her.

"Honey, Caroline tells me you don't have a job," Bill said. "I know it can't be too comfortable staying up there in the rooms we have because you can't afford an apartment right now."

Damon didn't know Elena didn't have a job. He didn't think she would ever let herself get into a position where she didn't have money, and he certainly didn't think she was actually staying at The Mae Flower. What about Grayson's place, or her brother or sister's houses?

"With everything that is going on," Elena said, "I want to do things on my own. I don't want help from anyone else even though I made an exception because I don't really think I could afford to put a deposit down on an apartment yet."

"No best friend of my daughter's is going to be left jobless," Bill said. "What do you know about making a long island ice tea?"

Elena's blank expression made Damon laugh to himself. He turned away from everyone to take a bite of the burger. It wasn't the best. He knew he was going to miss Brian's cooking.

"I know _nothing _about fixing a drink unless it has instructions on it from a liquor store," Elena admitted. "But a job here wouldn't be so bad… I don't want to insult Liz's cooking, but I could make a much better burger."

Grayson barked out a laugh. "I love Liz but I think anyone could make something better than she can."

"I heard that, Grayson Gilbert!"

Grayson ducked quickly as a greasy towel was chucked at his head from the kitchen just as Damon snorted.

"What was that for?" Elena asked.

"When the hell did you learn how to make something other than burned toast?" Damon asked, unable to help himself. He remembered the one time Elena tried to make toast in the morning after she had a sleep over with Anna and Caroline. It ended in disaster with a high pitched smoke alarm squealing so loud Damon's mother twisted her ankle in her haste to fan the smoke away from the alarm.

Anna gasped, stood up and walked over to him.

"Ow!" he growled out as her nails scraped his scalp for a second time that day.

"You're being a jerk," Anna said again. "I'm sure you're a fine cook now," she said to Elena.

Elena simply burst into giggles. "You really can't resist getting into trouble, can you, Damon?"

Damon snorted to himself as he rubbed the back of his hair and pulled his fingers in front of his face to make sure his sister hadn't drawn blood this time.

"Well, you never were able to cook."

Elena's eyes narrowed. "Well, maybe I learned while I was married to Matt."

"Oh, so getting married wasn't such a stupid move after all."

"I—Um, need to check and make sure mom doesn't need another jar of pickles." Caroline left.

"You are so—" Anna started before she let out a frustrated shriek. "I'm going to go hang out with Dani and her friends."

Bill and Grayson cleared their throats and then discreetly moved to the other side of the bar. "If you two are going to scream at each other," Bill said, "take it outside."

Damon realized he should have kept his mouth shut the moment he even dared to open it, if the way Elena fixed her glare on him was any indication. He couldn't help it though. Elena was stupid for getting married so young and he felt like it finally had to be said to her. Maybe he was hurt more by what she said to him the night before.

"You aren't ever going to let me forget what I did, are you?" Elena asked quietly.

"I don't know if I can, Elena, we can never be close friends like we used to be."

Damon regretted throwing her words that she used on him the night before immediately. Her face fell and she dropped her burger onto her plate and when he saw tears welling up in her eyes, he felt like even more of an ass. He had been so close to her forgiving him, and he immediately screwed it up. He had a serious case of foot-in-mouth syndrome and he didn't know if he would ever be able to fix it with Elena Gilbert, he thought to himself as she stood suddenly and ran to the steps where the bed and breakfast rooms were.

Bill and Grayson glared at him fiercely. Damon cleared his throat awkwardly and looked down at his plate of food, suddenly very uncomfortable.

—

"My brother doesn't know when to shut his mouth," Anna said as she carefully opened Elena's door and came inside with Caroline.

She kept telling herself she shouldn't let any man make her dissolve into tears, but when Damon called her stupid for getting married, that stung more than Elena wanted to admit. She knew she hadn't made the best choices, but did Damon really have the right to throw that into her face?

"Anna told me that she wants to throw you a divorce party," Caroline said. "I think it's a great idea. You're newly single and young and drop dead gorgeous and you don't have any kids. It shouldn't take you any time to meet someone great to be with."

"Take it from me," Anna said. "You are so lucky you didn't have kids with Matt. I made a lot of mistakes when I was your age," Elena almost pointed out that Anna was only a couple years older than she and Caroline, but she decided to listen to their friend instead, "sometimes I wish I didn't have Amy."

"Bite your tongue," Caroline said, frowning.

"That's an awful thing to say," Elena agreed.

Anna sighed. "I know it is and I should probably be labeled as the worst mother in the world for it, but it's frustrating sometimes with her not having a father in the picture."

"Yeah," Elena said. "But you have your brothers."

"I guess I do—enough about me and my dislike of being a mother sometimes," Anna said. "We have a divorce to plan, granted that I manage to find a baby sitter."

"You always act like it's such a chore," Caroline rolled her eyes. "Just ask Stefan. Do you think Katherine will want to come?"

"Of course she will!" Elena said. She was starting to come around to the idea of celebrating her divorce more and more. Why shouldn't she celebrate it? It was like Caroline and Anna said, she was a free woman now and she should be able to enjoy her new single status, not let herself be miserable. "I didn't include her in any of my wedding plans because I eloped with Matt. We _need _to include Katherine in this."

"I don't think she'll mind drinking the night away," Caroline said. "Especially once I talk Dad into letting us have free drinks. You should really think about taking a job here by the way," she said.

"Regardless of what Damon might or might not say about my cooking," Elena said, with the ridiculous urge to puff out her chest at the thought of someone insulting her skills in the kitchen, "I did manage to improve. Learning recipes are easier than I thought. I was married for six years and refused to let Matt bring pizza home every night even though that's what he tried to do sometimes."

"There has to have been something else that happened that you aren't telling us," Caroline said. "You really should. Getting it off your chest might make you feel better."

"Well, you don't have to tell us anything unless you want to," Anna chimed in. "I told you that you don't have to say anything unless you want to until we're having the divorce party."

"Well, I don't want to be childish and bash Matt for being a bad ex-husband if that's what you girls think this is going to be about," Elena said. "I won't bash him. I'm better than that."

Anna snorted. "You don't have to do anything of the sort," she said. "I think Damon does it enough for the both of you."

Elena sucked in a breath, and really wished there was a way she could get away from conversations about both Damon and Matt. She couldn't blame Caroline and Anna for constantly bringing up both men, though. They hadn't seen her in so long, and she had been a bad friend in that respect. Damon and Matt were both parts of her past. It was easy to get away from Matt even though he lived in the same town. He never liked the same kinds of things she liked and she highly doubted she would ever see him in The Mae Flower because she was pretty sure April knew what it meant to her, as his ex-wife, and so Elena felt like this was a safe, neutral place to be just like it always had been.

"Okay. I guess I can tell you guys what really happened," Elena sighed.

"Really?" Caroline asked in surprise. "I'm shocked you want to tell us anything that happened without Katherine here."

Anna snorted as she pulled out her cell phone. "That's what a speaker phone is for, honey."  
—

_Elena was knee-deep in her psychology thesis for her undergraduate degree, surrounded by so much research she knew the migraine forming would continue to pound in her head until she gave up and took a break from studying. _

"_Hey sweetheart," Matt said. He closed the front door and walked over to Elena, kissed her on the side of her head. "How is your thesis writing going?" _

_Elena closed her eyes and swallowed down the sudden rush of nausea she felt. Matt smelled of corn meal and marinara. He had just gotten home from working at a more traditional, family owned restaurant he had gotten a job at six months ago. Elena hated that damn pizza smell. After Matt got his own psychology degree, he decided he wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to work as a delivery driver and keep his band in Louisville up and running. He didn't make as much money as he could have if he decided to actually use his bachelor's degree, but he made enough so that the two of them could pay their bills. _

"_It's going. I'm a little stuck on the reason why evolution took the direction it did for the mind—geez, I can't even phrase that right." Elena groaned in frustration and pushed her laptop away from her on the desk to lay her head down. _

"_Oh… well then I guess this isn't the best time to ask you if you want to talk to me about something." _

_There was an uncertainty in Matt's voice that immediately made something dance uncomfortably in her stomach. Elena sighed and propped her head up on one of her hands as she looked up at her husband. _

"_Is there something wrong? Your job is going okay, right? You haven't gotten into an argument with any of the guys in the band again about the drummer, right?" _

_Matt sat down on the couch and shook his head. "No, no, it's nothing like that. I just need to talk to you about marriage stuff." _

"_Oh," Elena said. She closed her laptop and tidied up her research articles. "I can talk to you," she said. "What about our marriage do we need to talk about?"_

_Matt took her hand and sat her down. "We got married when you got right out of high school." _

"_Yeah…" Elena said as she sat down. "That isn't a shocking fact or anything," she said. _

"_Do you ever regret getting married so young? I wasn't that much older than you," Matt said. _

"_No, I don't," Elena said while inside she screamed "YES!" She forced herself to ignore that part of her brain that had been telling her she made a mistake the day she walked into that Justice of the Peace with Matt and signed a marriage license. "Why… do you?"_

"_I just feel like neither one of us dated enough." _

"_You're right—I'm not in the mood to talk about this sort of thing." Elena tried to stand but Matt pulled her down. _

"_Please don't walk away and get pissed off at me before I even have a chance to try to explain what I am trying to talk to you about." _

_He looked a little hurt at her sudden brush off. All Matt had to do was furrow his eye brows and act like she was the biggest, bitchiest wife in the world for not giving him a chance and hearing him out, and it always made Elena feel horrible for getting so mad at him. She'd had a short temper with him lately because he refused to give into the idea of having children together. Elena sighed, and leaned back against the couch. She didn't protest when Matt pulled her closer. _

"_I think we should get a divorce…I…I've met someone."  
_—

"Oh my god," Caroline said. "You're kidding?"

Elena sighed as she nodded and then flung herself backwards on her bed. "April messaged him on Facebook one evening. I _let _that woman into our lives, and I let him go on a 'friendly' lunch date with her, and the whole time he told me it was just because he was getting in touch with an old friend. Maybe Damon is right, I _am_ stupid."

"_Now you listen up,"_ Katherine said over the phone. _"Matt is a lying, dirty asshole to ever have suggested getting back in touch with her. Did you ever sleep with anyone else?" _

"No, I didn't," Elena said. "It was all him."

"You did _nothing _wrong," Anna said. "God, I am so glad you never had kids with him. How long did he date April before he asked for the divorce?"

Elena sighed as she tried to think about it. "I'm not sure. She actually messaged him in January, I think… or maybe it was December, of this year. I don't know. All I know is that I was playing it cool and letting him talk to her because I really believed nothing was going to happen. Matt even told me if I ever got uncomfortable with him being friends another woman or if I felt like she was encroaching on my territory too much that I could tell him and he would put an end to things as soon as I told him to... until he dropped the divorce bomb."

"All right," Anna said. "I'm grabbing one of Alaric's guns the next time we're over his house and shooting the dirty lying cheating son of a bitch."

"I'm right with you," Katherine said.

"Me too," Caroline added.

Elena sat up quickly. "I can't have my sister and best friends go to jail over his lousy ass." She couldn't glare at Katherine because she was on speaker phone, but she shot a pointed look at Caroline and Anna. "It's not worth it. I do think that if we have a divorce party, though, that it will be the best thing you guys could do for me. I need to get very, very drunk and I think I'll need someone to carry my ass back up here after I'm done."

* * *

Review :P

Do me another favor? Go read The Shattered Mirror by Elvishgrrl. It's fuckin' literature.


	7. Chapter Six

** _I need to ask my readers to please keep an extra eye out for plagiarism for this story. I'm going to be submitting it to publishers, and I'm pretty sure I'll get a million rejections, but I need to do it for the experience as a writer. The ultimate goal is to self-publish. I CANNOT have versions of this story floating around with fanfiction names. If this happens it's immediately going down. I will not let anyone translate it either. This is essentially a free read everyone is getting before I charge three bucks for it, LOL!_**

I had a real-life friend beg for another chapter update (you better review this chapter, girlfriend, or you're not getting the mailed copy when it's finished :P), so this is one of the reasons I decided to go ahead and put it up tonight. Tons of love to Christina (guest reviewer) for leaving something too (another person I know in real life—a few of my friends have started noticing I'm actually posting this so YAY—tons of love and hugs and kisses. You all rock because you don't make fun of me for my fanfiction addiction.). I'm in a super-duper good mood, so look for another CG update on Saturday too.

I'm telling you guys, my muse has turned me into a damn machine. I'm cranking out chapters to CG and a new story I just posted the other day, Head Over Hoof (also updating Saturday), and I am working a little bit on Better Halves. I'm waiting on Taaroko to have time to fully outline All This Time so we can divvy up the scenes (if you have not read that yet, why the fuck are you reading CG? Go! Read ATT. It's almost finished.). You all should probably add me to your author alerts too since I'm writing so much.

Tons of love and thanks to Kate (thisismyescape) for putting up with my crazy ass muse.

* * *

Chapter Six

Damon couldn't believe his luck.

He checked the kitchen counter, his car, Amy's toy box, underneath his bed, near his computer, and any other place he could think, but he couldn't find his phone. Damon wasn't the sort of person who relied on his phone so much that he had to have it—he disliked text messaging and he _hated _talking on the phone—but he did need it case of an emergency or to call Alaric's lazy ass to make him come into work.

Stomping downstairs, he found Anna in the kitchen with Amy. They were sharing a bowl of cereal together. Amy sat in Anna's lap and turned to look at Damon.

"Morning!" the child said happily.

Damon walked over to them and kissed her on the top of her head. "Morning, sweetie. Anna, have you seen my phone?"

Anna shook her head. "No, I haven't. Did you leave it on vibrate and let it die again?"

Damon shook his head. "I swear I set it down on my night stand last night before I went to sleep and it was _on _the charger."

"Hmm," Anna said. "I don't know then."

"Well, would you call Alaric and tell him to make sure he gets his ass in today? We have to change an engine on that Firebird."

"You can also always use the landline in the office if you need to make a phone call."

That was such an odd statement from his sister. Damon almost questioned her about it, but decided against it.

"You be good for your summer school teacher, okay, Amy?"

His niece nodded her head vigorously. "Okay!"

—

Elena had a towel wrapped around her damp hair from her morning shower. She was a bit nervous, and excited, because she was going to start her job at The Mae Flower that day, and she had to have a deep appreciation for a job would wasn't so early in the morning that she had to be up at six. She managed to somehow sleep until twelve, and her shift started at five, so she had a few hours to lounge around her room before she had to go downstairs. She also had to love the fact that she didn't have to actually drive to work because she lived upstairs.

In the midst of drying off her hair, her phone started to ring.

Elena groaned when she looked at the caller ID. It was Matt. She needed to put her phone down and not talk to him. There wasn't a reason he needed to call her, not at all, because they were divorced. But, Elena supposed, he did think they were able to still be friends even though she had tried to tell him otherwise on several occasions. Matt had this ability to make her feel guilty whenever she tried to be reasonable, and he made her feel like his reasons against her arguments were more viable than anything else she happened to think or say.

"Hey," Elena said.

She may as well see what he wanted.

There wasn't any harm in that, right?

"Hey!" Matt said. He sounded awfully upbeat and cheery with his radio broadcaster voice. Six months ago, it would have made Elena melt just hearing it. Now it made her stomach roll uncomfortably.

"Is there something you needed?"

"Do I need a reason to talk to you?" Matt asked.

He sounded like he wanted to challenge her, and maybe argue a little. Doing what she always did whenever it came to this man, Elena bit her inner cheek and shook her head in the negative even though he wasn't there to see her do it.

"I guess that you don't need a reason to call," she said.

"Well, I actually do have a reason. The guys and I are having a gig next weekend and they really want me to invite you. You didn't come to the last one, and I hate to think that you will stop supporting Alycia in Rope just because we got divorced. I still need my roadie, Lena."

He needed a roadie, her ass. A distinct ding on her phone rang as it buzzed against her ear, indicating she got a text message, but she fought the urge to put Matt on speaker phone so she could look at it.

"Don't call me Lena, and I don't know if I want to go or not. I think the girls and I are going to spend some time together."

"C'mon," Matt prodded. "Don't be like that. You know you want to come."

"Where is the gig going to be?"

"Stevo hasn't gotten back to me on that, I just know we're playing and I'll know it when he tells me."

"I can't just up and suddenly go somewhere random anymore, Matt. I have a job now and we're divorced." Elena sighed. "I will think about it, but I really don't want to go if April is going to be there.

"Okay, well," there was a slight hint of defeat in Matt's voice. It was a misguided attempt to stay civil with her, and keep in contact—they had been each other's best friends for six years after all—but he never seemed to be able to understand just how much she didn't want to talk to him anymore.

Well, either that or he knew exactly what he was doing enjoyed making her miserable and uncomfortable because even though they weren't married anymore because he wasn't ready to let her go.

"Just let me know," he finally said after a slightly awkward silence.

"I will, for sure," Elena said.

She shook her head and hung up the phone.

When she opened up the text message, she burst into laughter.

—

The first week of working at The Mae Flower went by in a blur. Bar tending and working back in a kitchen hadn't ever been something Elena imagined herself doing, but it was fun to work with Caroline, Bill, and Liz. It was a good transitional job for her while she decided what she wanted to do and if she wanted to go to graduate school. Mostly Elena liked to work in the back where she could cook but sometimes when it was so busy that Caroline couldn't keep up with all the orders, Elena had to go to the front. Bill joked with her that she moved quick as lightning and made a surprisingly good fruity drink she had experimented with in college. He was trying to get her to let him call it "The Elena," but she thought it was ridiculous and couldn't remember the actual name of the drink, but customers seemed to love it.

Elena suddenly burst into giggles and leaned against the bar.

"What on earth have you been laughing about all week?" Caroline asked as served a drink to a burly man with a beer gut. On a stage in the corner of the bar, a twenty-something drunk sang "I Kissed a Girl" at the top of her lungs. She was butchering the song as she slurred out the words. She sounded worse than a dying cat in heat.

"I think Anna gave Damon my number…and he's started sending me funny pictures again."

"Oh?" Caroline asked with a grin. "What did he send you?"

Elena showed her. It was the picture of a bull with long horns with a rose in his mouth, and it said: _"The Perfect Male__:__ Sensitive, but horny."_ It was the sort of picture that had been floating around on the Internet for years, and the exact type of thing that always sent Elena into a fit of giggles whenever she saw it.

Caroline rolled her eyes with a laugh. "I think he's finally seen the error in his ways, and he's trying to get back onto your good side."

"Um… it might be working," Elena said. "I haven't ever texted him back though."

Caroline smiled and patted Elena on the shoulder. "You both hurt each other, sweetheart. I think you need to give it time, but that is definitely a good way for him to get back into your good graces, wouldn't you say?"

Elena nodded.

"No, put your phone up," Caroline said in a bossy tone. "You're my best friend, but if you don't take a pitcher of beer over to those loud mouthed idiots, I might have to get Dad to fire you."

Elena laughed at Caroline and went back to work.

—

Anna peeked around the passenger side of a Firebird inside where Damon sat trying to start it. The damn thing just wouldn't start, even after he put new spark plugs in. The owner had been reluctant to change the engine, and Damon had done everything he could do to try to get the car to start without it, but at this point it definitely needed the engine.

"Hey," Anna said. "Still having no luck?"

"I'm going to have to replace the engine. I tried to tell this woman it's what she needs to do, but she wouldn't listen to me and I've wasted my damn time."

Opening the door, Anna slid in. Damon eyed his sister warily. "What's that look on your face?"

"I might have done something you are going to want to kill me for."

Damon took the key out of the ignition and sat back, crossing his arms. "What's that?"

Anna flashed a bright smile at him. "You can have your phone back," she said. Anna actually sounded smug with herself. A smug little sister always meant she had been up to no good.

"That's where it went," Damon said as Anna slowly handed his cell back. The moment it was in his hand, he checked the text log. He had a vague idea of exactly what she had been up to the moment she smirked at him. "You've been sending texts to Elena as me?" he demanded.

"You're welcome," Anna said. Her grin was wider than a Cheshire cat's and got up when the work phone started to ring. "I'm going to get back to work." With that, she bounded off.

Damon stared at Anna incredulously. It was too bad they weren't kids anymore. He would have shoved her in a puddle of mud like he used to when she made him angry. Damon rolled his eyes at himself and at Anna once the childish thought crossed his mind.

"Sometimes I wonder why our mother didn't strangle our sister in her sleep," Damon said as their brother, Stefan, came into the garage with Alaric and Elijah. They had been on a lunch break.

"What did Anna do this time?" Stefan asked. He sat down on a chair and pulled a large book out of his backpack. Stefan was the only one of them to do anything else with college other than a bachelor's degree because he wanted to go to school to be a surgeon. He was halfway there, and was taking some online summer classes.

"Know how I couldn't find my phone all week?"

Alaric burst into laughter. "When are you going to learn you need to hide your phone from your sister?"

"Yeah, well, she kidnapped my phone and she's been sending texts to Elena all week."

Stefan laughed. "Anna is a meddler. That's how my relationship started with Amber."

Damon sighed. "Well, Elena didn't send any messages back." He shrugged and climbed out of the bar. "This damn thing needs a new engine. Spark plugs aren't doing it."

"You should stop being a pussy and ask her out already," Elijah said. Stefan and Alaric nodded in agreement.

Stefan and Elijah had a tendency to gossip like women in a knitting group and Alaric usually got right in on it—Damon happened to know how those things went because his mother ran one every Sunday night. There'd been a few times when they started ribbing him about Elena in the past week, because Anna had not been quiet about her coming home. His best friends had been right in the middle of that gossip.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Elena just got divorced, man, and I'm in a relationship. Don't start with me."

"Ask her to dinner, at least try to fix your friendship," Elijah said. "Nothing could hurt in doing that. It sucked when you guys got into that fight because you were both idiots. Katherine bitches about it all the time."

"Really?" Damon asked. "You guys are going to do this right now? When the hell did the three of you take interest in my love life?"

"Bekah is a bitch," Alaric said. Damon glared at him, about to open his mouth. "Bekah is just sex; she's not a real girlfriend. She only rolls into town whenever she feels like it, and she signed up for a study abroad program in Italy without even asking you how you felt about it. She's _not_ the type of girl you marry, Elena_ is_."

"You all seem to have forgotten Elena and I had a very bad fight," he said instead, not willing to admit his friend was right, "and she constantly acts nervous whenever she sees me."

Things hadn't gotten better. It always felt like Damon was taking one step forward and two steps back with Elena the whole time she had been home. He saw her here and there because she came to visit her father and brought him lunch sometimes. Even though Anna had apparently been sending her text messages, she didn't seem to want to acknowledge it in person.

"You've been dancing around the way you've felt for Elena for years, brother," Stefan said. "Bekah isn't worth it."

"We just care about you, man," Alaric said. "Bekah doesn't seem to make you happy."

Damon shook his head, about to argue with them, but Anna came back into the garage, her heels snapping sharply against the concrete as she walked.

Anna came into the garage, her heels snapping sharply as she walked. "Damon, Stefan, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Stefan put down his text book. Damon, realizing he wasn't going to be able to work on the Firebird, sighed and turned to his sister. The three of them walked back to the office when an excited Anna turned to them.

"What's up?" Stefan asked.

"Okay, I know I _never _ask you this, but could one of you watch Amy this weekend?" Anna asked. She rocked back on her heels and held her hands behind her waist like she used to do whenever she waited for their father to give her money so she could go shopping with friends when she was sixteen. Damon raised an eyebrow at her.

"I have to study this weekend," Stefan said.

Anna rolled her eyes. "You're constantly studying because you're taking summer classes. You can take a break for a few hours to spend time with your niece."

"I'm also going to be an intern soon," Stefan argued. "These summer classes are going to make it so I can graduate early."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, turning to her other brother, "Damon, _please_ watch Amy for me?"

"Where are you going this weekend?" Damon asked.

Anna smiled really wide. "Caroline and I are _finally _throwing a divorce party for Elena at The Mae Flower. We've wanted to do it ever since she got back home, but we haven't had a chance because we've been busy and I wasn't sure who I could ask to watch Amy. But, then I realized I have two brothers who I can sucker into being baby sitters because you're both family and it's your duty to spend time with and to spoil your only niece rotten."

"Does that mean you guys are going to be absolutely drunk at the end of the night?" Stefan asked. He immediately started grinning.

Damon shoved one of his hands into a pocket, where his cell phone was.

Anna nodded vigorously. "Katherine is even coming. I wish we could have gotten Bonnie to come, but she and Jeremy are still out of town, but even if she was here and she could go, Jeremy would have watched their son, so you _have _to watch Amy for me."

Anna has insane troll logic, Damon thought to himself. "Sure, sis. I'd love to watch Amy."

Anna squealed. Damon barely caught himself when she launched herself at him for a hug.

"Thank you, I dreaded asking Mom," Anna said.

"No problem," Damon said. "We'll have a fun time and watch Disney princess movies."

"You know what? I haven't seen Amy in a few days," Stefan said. "Do you mind if I come over to your place?" Stefan asked.

"Not a problem. I think Amy would love seeing you."

"We might have to renegotiate that Disney princess thing though," Stefan said with a wince.

"Disney movies are non-negotiable with my daughter," Anna said. "If you try to take them away from her, she will cry her eyes out until she gets her way, and I promise you do _not _want to be there for that temper-tantrum when it starts if you try it."

Stefan grunted when Anna grabbed him and pulled him into a hug too, effectively turning the moment into a Salvatore Sibling group hug.

Anna finally let them go, and took a step back. "Thank you so much, boys. I'll have to make it up to you both somehow. I haven't had a drink in forever."

—

"Matt," Elena said in surprise as Matt hugged her like they were old friends, not like they were ex-lovers who had gone through a divorce, "hey."

A stiff April stood beside him. She wore bright red lipstick and her hair sat stupidly on top of her head, and her perfume made Elena want to gag because it smelled like a mixture of garbage and roses. She attempted to smile at Elena but instead her lips pursed. It gave her a duck face.

"Hi Elena," April said.

"Hey, Daddy!" Caroline yelled as she walked over to the bar. "I've got something I've got to talk about."

Anna and Katherine carefully inched closer to Elena as Caroline went to talk with her father. Elena had no clue, that when Matt told her he was going to be playing a gig that Saturday, that it would be The Mae Flower of all places. Alycia in Rope usually didn't play in small towns like this—unless they were starting to get desperate for work and that was a very close possibility since Matt moved back home and he and his band mates were more spread out now.

Elena plastered a smile on her face. Katherine and Anna coughed beside her.

"Oh, geez, Matt, you know Katherine."

Katherine protectively wrapped an arm around Elena. "Dick," she greeted.

Elena immediately elbowed her and hissed, "Behave!"

Matt raised an eyebrow and tried to hug Katherine, but she purposely stepped back so that he held his arms out awkwardly. "Hey," he said, clearing his throat. "How are you and Elijah doing, Kath?"

"We're peachy," Katherine said.

Anna walked up to Matt and held her hand out. "Anna Salvatore," Matt said. "I've never met you, but I've heard a lot about you."

"Pleasure," Anna said in a clipped tone.

Matt shook her hand briefly, looking a little uncomfortable because he knew Anna was Damon's sister. He pulled April closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. "This is April, my girlfriend."

"Lovely," Katherine said, and Elena wanted to groan internally when she saw how Katherine had her eyes narrowed at Matt. "I need a beer. Caroline! Please tell me your Bill has stocked the bar with Guinness recently."

"Elena? Come with us. I need a beer too," Anna said.

The girls brushed Matt off as they took Elena to the bar. Elena was pretty sure he was glaring at her back furiously. Neither Katherine nor Anna really acknowledged April.

"I want to punch that stupid bitch right smack-dab in the face," Katherine muttered as soon as they sat down at the bar.

"Daddy, you _really _hired Elena's ex-husband's band? What is wrong with you?"

Elena watched them from the corner of her eye. Caroline looked wonderful tonight with her strawberry blond hair hanging down her back in mermaid curls and a purple tank top and a ripped pair of jeans. She had helped Elena pick out a simple little summary blue dress with a floral print that looked decent and not like something a grandmother would wear. Anna simply wore a black V-neck t-shirt and jeans, and Katherine had on a mini skirt and a red tank top. They looked hot; Elena _felt _like she looked hot. That was quite a feat considering her husband was in the same bar and he had nearly ruined her self-esteem when he asked for the divorce.

"Caroline, don't worry about it," Elena said. "We're here to have fun, not to let them ruin our time out. It's okay that you hired him, Bill."

Bill started laughing. "How could I _not _hire these idiots, girls?" Bill asked just as the band started to test and tune their instruments, "I told them I'd give them one-hundred bucks for each guy if they wanted a gig here. They took it as meaning 100 for the _whole band._ How can I say no to Alycia in Rope?" Bill snickered as he spoke, and a few older men who seemed to know him started laughing as well, "when they are so damn cheap?"

Caroline deflated a little, even though she still looked disconcerted about Matt being there. In fact, she looked more upset than Elena was upset about him being in her father's bar.

"Okay, old man, get us three Guinness drafts, and I'll forgive you… for now."

Bill nodded and Elena slumped against the bar as she looked at April and Matt. April was kissing Matt and completely distracting him from tuning his guitar. He wasn't even doing anything to stop her from it while Stevo, the singer, looked at the two of them with an annoyed expression on his face that said he was about to say something to the couple that would piss them off. Elena couldn't count the number of times Stevo had interrupted private moments with her and Matt when they were married, but that wasn't what upset her most. It was that Matt wasn't doing anything to stop April from reaching up to kiss him, and making him forget he had to actually tune his instruments before he played.

No, he seemed completely unconcerned about it and let her continue to do so until Max, the drummer, said, "Knock it off, you too!"

"We can bail," Anna said, as she sipped her beer. "We don't have to be here."

"It's okay," Elena said. "Not only do I plan on getting completely drunk," Matt had always hated it whenever Elena drank, and she was not going to let him being there stop her from having fun with her friends, "but I also live upstairs. I'll deal."

The girls walked over to a table away from the bar. It was built into a part of a log that was used as a support beam for the bar and they had a good view of the stage where the band would be performing.

"I know how it is to feel cut off from family and friends. It happened to me while I was going to school in Canada," Anna said. "I got pregnant with Amy, so I came home."

"So… Alycia in Rope? Really?" Katherine asked.

"Yeah. They have an original band they named The Ropes too," Elena said.

Katherine and Anna looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"_Be nice!" _Elena said.

Anna crossed her heart. "I promise to be on my best behavior."

"I don't," Katherine said with a smirk.

Anna slapped her car keys onto the table. "Then you get to be DD. I'm drinking until I can't see straight."

As the girls continued to talk amongst themselves, Elena found herself watching Matt and April again. Why was she doing this to herself? She knew she shouldn't, but she was curious about the woman who broke up her marriage. April sat as far away from Elena, Katherine, and herself as she could.

Just then, Elena felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around.

"Elena! I can't believe you're here."

"Fred," Elena let the drummer of Alycia in Rope pull her into a hug. "How is Nancy doing?"

Nancy was Fred's on again, off again girlfriend. Elena looked around to see if she was there, she had actually been someone who Elena could talk to whenever she was at a gig the guys were playing, but she didn't see her anywhere.

"She's doing great. She's back home in Lexington with her parents though since they're going to a family reunion this weekend. Who are these pretty ladies?"

"This is Katherine, my sister, and Anna, one of our friends."

"It's great to meet you, girls. I've got to get the rest of my stuff set up."

"Great meeting you, Katherine said.

"I can't _wait _for the music to start," Anna said with a bit of a sarcastic grin.

Stevo stood with a beer in his hand and a red face as he barked at Fred, Matt, and the bass player, James, to get their shit together. James and Stevo were roommates in a house they rented together. As Elena looked at the two of them, she noticed the unsteady way James wobbled.

She rolled her eyes.

He was seriously drunk already?

An hour later, Elena's head swam pleasantly and even though she was sure Stevo was singing off key to "Let it Be" by the Beatles, she was having a good time. The song didn't really sound right without a keyboard player, but Anna and Katherine seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Through the loud music, the girls were able to talk as openly. They talked about how life was, what Caroline's plans were once she graduated from college, and what Elena debated what to do if she got into a graduate school after she got back onto her feet financially. Else wanted to be a family therapist, she told them, but she needed to get back onto her feet monetarily.

Elena felt her phone buzz against her leg. A small smile tugged at her lips when she noticed it was a text from Damon. She hadn't gotten one in a few days and when she opened it, she burst into giggles.

"What's so funny?" Anna asked.

"Your brother can be a dog, is all."

Anna smirked and grabbed Elena's phone.

"Hey, come on!" Elena grasped for her phone again, but Anna was too quick, and already had it held away so Elena could not take it back.

"You haven't been talking, have you?" Anna laughed.

Elena shook her head. "He's been sending texts, but I haven't really responded."

"The two of you need to get over yourselves," Katherine said.

Elena reached over the table and snapped her phone back from Anna's hands. "That's not exactly easy, you know," she said.

Katherine took Elena's hand and smiled softly at her. Elena stopped mid-swallow of her beer when she looked at her sister. "I totally intend for you to drink so much you can't remember this in the morning, but honey, Damon still cares about you."

"Everyone keeps telling me that, and I don't know if I want to believe any of you because then I'd get my hopes up. I can't stand the thought of getting my heart broken twice in the same year, girls. I just won't do it."

"I hate saying 'I told you so,'" Anna said, "but you shouldn't have married Matt."

Elena didn't say anything. She gulped down the rest of her drink as the song ended, thankful it was still loud enough and that they sat far away enough from the stage that April and Matt couldn't hear their conversation.

"Okay folks," Stevo said. "I and the boys are going to take a little fifteen minute break to re-tune and get some beer. Don't forget to tip your bartender, and for that matter, don't forget to tip us!"

Elena tensed as Matt put his guitar down and walked over to April. She looked away from them when he wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her in for a kiss. Elena grabbed Anna's beer.

"Hey!" Anna protested. Katherine kicked Anna underneath the table, "_hey!_" she yelped. "That hurt!"

Elena snorted into the drink.

"We can leave, you know?" Katherine said. "It's awfully brave of you to try to stay here and watch this but we don't have to stay here. We can go back to my house and drink."

"We can absolutely leave," Anna said. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you told Matt to go—_Matt_! Hey!"

Matt looked between Elena, her sister, and friend suspiciously. "You know, you guys don't have a lot of table space. I hate seeing you sitting away from everyone. Mind if we pull one of our tables over here? April hates sitting alone."

Katherine and Anna looked like they were both about to give him a firm no, but Elena quickly jumped up. "Sure, no problem."

As she walked over to help Matt pull a table over, Katherine and Anna gave her incredulous looks.

"_Do you really enjoy hurting yourself on purpose?" _

Elena slammed her phone face down onto the table, effectively ignoring Katherine's text, and the subsequent glare her sister shot in her direction.

Elena smiled tightly when she ended up sitting across from Matt and April, who couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other even though they were in a bar that seemed to dislike that kind of behavior. Anna stood to get herself and Elena new drinks.

Anna came back with shots of whiskey. "We are going to hit these," Anna said, "and fast."

"Are you really sure you should be drinking so much, Elena?" Matt asked.

Elena sat up straighter.

"Oh god, please tell me she's not drinking," Stevo interjected.

Elena looked at Anna, then at Matt, his girlfriend, and Stevo and then knocked back the drink.

"Oh god, she's drinking," Stevo groaned.

"Yep. I'm drinking," Elena said.

"Lena, last time you drank—"

"Matt, I'm here to celebrate the fact that we are divorced and I am now a single woman," Elena said. "I'm celebrating with my girlfriends and I'm sitting here because you asked me to because I'm trying to stay friends with you and be mature about this." She threw back another shot. "_Yes_, I'm drinking."

April looked at Elena, and she wasn't sure what it was, but suddenly she felt like crying. Tears sprang to her eyes as she slammed the shot glass onto the table. Maybe she had been drinking too fast and maybe she should have listened to her sister and friend and not stayed at The Mae Flower while Alycia in Rope was playing there, and maybe it was because Matt hadn't stopped being handsy with April once they went on break from playing music, but suddenly she felt like she couldn't breathe, and she had to get away from everyone.

"Excuse me, I need the bathroom," she said. She grabbed her phone and ignored Katherine and Anna's protests as she made a bee line for the lady's room.

When she got inside of the rest room, she immediately walked toward one of the stalls and slammed it shut, then locked it. For a moment, Elena wasn't sure if she was having a panic attack or not, but tears did start running down her cheeks as she sobbed and tried to regulate her breathing. Her legs started to feel unsteady, and so she sat on the toilet.

She wasn't sure what possessed her, but she unlocked her phone and went to Damon's name on her screen.

"_You know what? You're the one who is stupid. I would have never married Matt if you hadn't told me it was a mistake that you took my virginity on your birthday. It wasn't a mistake. I would have married you instead. So you're the stupid one, Damon. Not me." _

Elena briefly hesitated. Had she been sober, she might have deleted that text. Instead, she hit "send."

* * *

You guys _really _delivered for me on the review-front last week. This story is really close to me for personal reasons and I smiled every single time I saw a new review hit my inbox. I tried to reply to reviews, but I suck at doing that, so if I don't reply to you, it doesn't mean I haven't read every single review I've gotten.

You can follow me on twitter: anglcdmn1986

I'm going to go work on chapter ten of CG now :P It's halfway written, but I'm trying to space out the updates.

Please be sure to review!

OH. I suck with making covers. I am going to get professional cover art done for Cheap Guitars, but the artist I am going to hire wants thirty dollars just for a sketch. Is anyone good with Photoshop/willing to make a rough cover for me? I'd highly appreciate it.


	8. Chapter Seven

I wanted to post this tomorrow morning, but I actually am spending the night at a guy's place and I probably won't be on my compute after work (posting this on my break). If I get totally bored tomorrow I might post another chapter after I get home (let me know if you want it :P). I STILL want reviews on this one! If I post another tomorrow and get a low amount of reviews on this one, I will NOT spoil you guys anymore.

Thanks to Kate (thisismyescape) for the beta! *insert stupid heart emoticon things here*

Chapter Seven

Damon watched Stefan and Amy at the kitchen table. Stefan was reading a medical journal; something Damon was sure was some boring review about cancer research. He was never able to understand how his brother could read that crap and not fall asleep. Amy had three Oreos she already licked icing from, and she had all the cookies stacked in a neat little row next to her milk.

He quickly moved his laptop when Amy dropped the cookies into her milk and then reached into the cup with her hand, squishing down the cookies. Milk overflowed everywhere.

"Damn it, Amy!" Stefan barked as he stood quickly. "What is wrong with you?"

Amy jumped back, frightened, and her cup clattered to the table, where the rest of the milk splashed. Amy was the sort of kid who wanted to please everyone. At the first sign of someone becoming upset with her, she only did one thing.

She burst into tears.

Damon had her in his arms as soon as she started crying. "It's okay, Princess," he soothed. "Stefan," he hissed, "you know you can't raise your voice around Amy."

Stefan ignored him but Damon thought he caught a glimpse of guilt in his brother's eyes before Stefan groaned.

"Great. My journal and pants are soaked," he complained.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Stefan," Amy sniffed from Damon's arms.

Stefan sighed as he looked at Amy, and then walked over to them.

"It's okay, sweetie. I'm sorry I yelled," Stefan said, addressing his brother, "I need to go changed."

"It's a good thing we decided to do this at your place then," Damon said.

Amy sniffled, but she stopped crying and stared after Stefan.

"My hands are wet."

"Silly girl, you shouldn't play with your Oreos like that," Damon said to her. "Have fun grooming the hero hair, Stefan!"

Stefan said something which Damon would have smacked him over the head for had he been closer. Thankfully Amy didn't seem fazed by the amount of adult language her uncles used when they had her. She was more concerned with licking milk from her arm.

"What's hero hair, Uncle Damon?" Amy asked as he sat her on the counter.

He turned on the tap and waited for it to warm up. He chuckled when he took a piece of Oreo icing from Amy's soft black hair.

"Uncle Stefan wants to be a doctor, right?"

"Yeah!" Amy said. "He wants to fix people. Mommy said he's super brave."

"Yes," Damon said, "so that's why he's got all that poufy hair." He dampened a washcloth and started wiping Amy's hands.

"Really?" Amy asked. "I always thought he had poufy hair 'cause he's stupid."

Damon burst out laughing. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it as he ruffled his niece's hair. She squealed and tried batting his hands away, and smoothed it down back behind her ears.

"Uncle Damon!" the child admonished, "Don't mess up _my_ hair!"

"You should be nicer to Uncle Stefan. He puts a lot of effort into that hair and becoming a hero."

"But I'm a girl," Amy said with perfect five-year-old logic. "I'm _supposed _to take care of my hair. Mommy says its super-duper important."

Damon continued laughing a little at his niece as he made sure she was cleaned up, then turned the sink water off and grabbed a dry dish towel. Once he was certain Amy was clean and dry, he picked her up off the counter.

"You've had it for tonight kiddo. Bed time."

"Mommy lets me stay—"

"Amy Salvatore," Damon said. He had been proud of Anna when she gave Amy her maiden name.

Damon's cell phone buzzed again.

Amy sighed. "Okay. I'll go."

Damon shook his head. Amy was a lot like Anna in the fact that she was stubborn. She was a tough kid too, considering what Anna's ex-boyfriend had put them through. As far as Damon knew, T.J. never out right hit Anna or Amy, but he liked to yell a lot at them. If he had ever touched Anna in a physically abusive way, Damon would have killed the son of a bitch. He was relieved Amy didn't freak out more than she did when she spilled her milk.

Mid-cleanup of the kitchen table, Damon paused to look at his cell phone. He learned a long time ago that when Anna and Katherine declared they were going out drinking, that he and Elijah both needed to be on high alert.

There were two missed calls and one text message. The calls were both from Anna and the text was from Elena. Damon smirked slightly. Maybe Anna was right in stealing his phone and sending Elena picture texts as him because it seemed to have gotten Elena's attention.

Damon was a large chicken shit when it came to Elena Gilbert. No one would ever catch him admitting that out loud to anyone. No, Damon Salvatore would take that secret to the grave. Because he was a chicken shit, Damon let almost six years pass before he spoke to Elena after their fight about her marriage. Because he was a chicken shit, Elena was the first one who made the first move the night they had sex. Because Damon was a chicken shit, he was certain that if anything ever happened between him and Elena again, it would have to be her making the first move again.

Damon opted to listen to the voice mail first.

"_Damon,_" came Anna's voice. "_Fucking Donovan, of all people, is playing tonight at The Mae Flower. Can you believe it? You'd totally be making fun of it. Anyway," _Damon was rolling his eyes, "_Katherine is going to be the designated driver. Don't worry about staying up to wait for me. Amy should be okay. I promise I won't get back in too late." _

It was Anna's standard, "I'm-drinking-and-I'll-be-safe" voice mail.

He listened to the next voice mail, which came in a few minutes ago.

"_Um…"_ Anna was obviously on her way to being drunk. _"You're going to hate me. Elena locked herself in the woman's bathroom and Katherine got really, really pissed off and started drinking too. I've had to convince her not to punch April." _There was a pause, and Damon could vaguely make out Katherine's voice. "_Is she still refusing? Dammit, I'm—"_

Alarmed, Damon stared at his phone after the voice mail cut off. He swore under his breath—What did Elena _expect _to happen when she went to her ex-husband's gigs? Did she enjoy hurting herself? That was the only reason he could fathom she would _ever _go to Matt's gig after the stupid bastard asked her for a divorce. It didn't matter that she lived at The Mae Flower. The girls could have gone somewhere else.

Damon tried calling Anna. It went straight to her voice mail. He tried Katherine. Hers went straight to voice mail, and so did Caroline's.

Damon must have stared at that text message a whole five minutes before Stefan came back into the kitchen.

"Is something wrong?" Stefan asked.

Damon tried to speak, but he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Stefan frowned as Damon opened his mouth, sputtered like a fish, and couldn't spit out his words.

"Everything okay, brother?" Stefan asked.

Damon locked his phone and shoved it into his pocket.

"The girls just got really drunk, is all," Damon finally managed.

"Are they okay? Why the hell are you so pale?" Stefan asked, laughing a little when Damon said nothing. "I got a few crazy texts from Anna."

"I might call Elijah and go get them." Damon walked over to the shelf near Stefan's front door and grabbed his keys. "Matt has a gig that Bill is letting them play and Elena is in a bathroom crying."

Stefan groaned. "Anna failed to mention that."

"Will you be okay here alone with Amy?"

Stefan looked uncomfortable, but nodded in the affirmative. "We should be fine. She's out."

"Great. I'll be back later."

As soon as he was in his car, Damon called Elijah.  
—

Elena hadn't even been out of the restroom two seconds—the text she sent Damon long forgotten because she'd cried so long—before Matt swooped in on her.

"I need to talk to you," he hissed.

What a buzz kill, Elena thought, as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her in the back near empty pool tables. She became nervous. She shouldn't have gotten so upset in front of everyone, especially Matt and April.

"You're holding my wrist too tight," Elena said calmly.

Matt dropped her wrist and then leaned against one of the pool tables and raked his hand through his hair.

"That was _not _cool," Matt said.

Elena sighed and leaned against the pool table next to him. Crossing her arms protectively over her chest, she said, "What's not cool?"

Play it dumb. It had been one of Elena's many tactics when trying to avoid an argument while they were married.

"You've _completely _made April feel unwelcome. This was the first time I brought her to one of our gigs and she felt completely unwelcome."

The audacity! Elena huffed and glared at Matt. "You're letting her hang _all _over you. Seeing that hurts me. God—this was supposed to be a night for drinking with my best friends and sister so I could forget you, but you're performing _here!_"

"April is my girlfriend. You and—"

"You aren't listening to a damn word I'm saying, are you?" Elena asked in complete disbelief.

"You aren't listening to me either!" he hissed.

Elena looked around, afraid other patrons in the bar might notice their semi-loud argument. No one seemed to be watching.

"Fine. Out with it," Elena said.

It was better to let Matt get things out of his system than to keep interrupting the stupid selfish ass, Elena decided, than to argue with him.

"I know this is a strange situation, but I'm going to be affectionate with April. She got out of an abusive marriage and wasn't ever able to show public love for her spouse."

Oh, so she was his spouse now, was she? Did he really think giving her April's sordid past would make Elena feel anything besides contempt for the stupid woman?

Elena bit the inside of her cheek and let him keep talking.

"If this is how it's going to be though, I don't know if I can let you come to another gig, even if it's here, because April won't allow it—"

"Now," Elena said, uncrossing her arms and slamming her hand down on the pool table. Pain shot through her fingers, wrist, and up her arm but she refused to wince and pointed a finger from that same hand into Matt's face. "Bill gave me a job here. I'm living upstairs until I can afford my own place because your ass left me with nothing after I paid for the divorce. Fuck you if you and April think you can control where I choose to spend my time with my friends. I think _you _should be sensitive to how I feel! You asked me to be friends, not the other way around!"

"Stop yelling, Jesus, Elena," Matt said. "Maybe it was a bad idea to think we could stay friends."

Defeated, and unable to think of anything more to say because she felt stunned, and because they always ran around each other in circles when they argued, Elena said nothing as she turned away from Matt. Whatever she said would have been met with more irrational anger anyhow.

She should have listened to the girls, and they should have found another bar. A million "what-ifs" and "should-haves" bombarded Elena as she turned away from Matt and looked around for Caroline, Anna, and Katherine.

"Whatever," she said to Matt as she walked away. "The guys look like they're ready to start another set."

Tears streamed down her face as she bolted back to the restroom. The path to her room was too crowded by customers. Skimming the bar once again for Katherine, Anna, and Caroline, she found them guarding her purse as April was pulled into Matt's arms. Caroline seemed like she was giving him a harsh look before Kat and Anna pulled her away from the table. Satisfied they were coming to the rest room, Elena darted inside.

As soon as the three of them were in the rest room with her, Elena really let herself burst into sobs.

"Oh, Elena!" Katherine said. She pulled Elena into a tight hug.

Caroline patted her back, "what did that dick do to you?"

Elena hugged her sister tightly as she cried into her shoulder. She could feel a series of awkward pats on her shoulder as Anna tried to comfort her too with Caroline and Katherine.

"I—Matt—" Elena blubbered.

"You need to calm down, Elena," Anna said in a soothing voice. "We can't understand anything you say unless you calm yourself."

It took almost five minutes for her to stop sobbing. Caroline took some paper towels and handed them to Elena.

"What happened?" Katherine asked as she pushed some of Elena's messy hair from her forehead.

"He yelled at me!" Elena said angrily. "Apparently I made April uncomfortable because I was looking at them all uncomfortable when he tried to hold her."

"How _ridiculous!_" Caroline shrieked.

"_April _was pawing him like a bitch in heat," Anna said. She sounded flabbergasted.

"I'm going to fucking _kill_ him," Katherine raged.

"No killing my stupid ex," Elena said with a sigh, although she had to admit that she had no remorse from briefly taking her sister up on the offer. "No matter how much I wish we could."

"I'm fucking drinking. Vodka," Katherine said. "I'll either call Elijah or crash with you tonight, Elena, but if I don't do something to loosen myself up, I'm going to go bitch slap that little—" her voice faded off as she left the ladies room.

"Elena… you're letting him win," Caroline said. "I could tell my dad to kick them out. The music is only bad covers of really good songs like 'Let it Be' and 'Love Me Two times' and they're driving away customers."

"What would running them out of here prove?" Elena asked. "It wouldn't prove anything and it would just get all of them mad at me."

"We definitely cannot let you duck your head underneath the sand," Anna said. "And that is exactly what you would be doing if we had Bill make them leave."

"Besides," Katherine said, walking back into the rest room with the vodka she had gone after, "we can't let that stupid bitch think you're upset for one minute."

Elena furiously wiped her face with a paper towel.

"We should get out there in fact," Caroline said. "And oh god, we need to fix your hair, Elena."

"They were rambling off something about playing some original music," Katherine said.

"Fine," Elena sighed. "Does anyone have a hair brush?"

—

Twenty-five minutes later, Elena gaped at the band on the stage. Far too pissed off to try to sit near April anymore, the girls moved to the bar. Caroline sat on top of it, much to Bill's dismay, but he kept giving the girls drinks after they explained to him what happened with Matt."

"Don't you girls think you should slow down?" an extremely uncomfortable April asked from her seat next to them. "And sir?" she added, directing her attention toward Bill, "may I have another Long Island Ice Tea?"

"Who the hell asked you for your opinion?" Katherine asked.

Caroline and Anna burst into laughter when April flushed and fled back to her table, her Long Island Ice Tea forgotten.

"You are such a sucky designated driver, Kat," Anna said.

"You girls," Bill said, "aren't going anywhere."

"Aw, Daddy" Caroline smiled. "I love you."

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Elena knew Matt would be madder at her later for the way Kat spoke to April, but she couldn't find it in herself to give a damn. They deserved to have the opportunity to get loud, drunk, and obnoxious, and no one was going to ruin that for Elena. Bill seemed to have that same sentiment when he gave Elena the Long Island Ice Tea.

"Take this, honey," Bill said. "You need this more than she did. I'm putting all of your drinks on the band's tab too."

Elena grinned widely at him. "Bill…" she tried and failed to sound like she was scolding him.

"What the hell are those boys playing? It is making even more customers leave," Bill griped as he patted Elena on her hand and turned away from her to get one of the few remaining customer's order.

"It's something Stevo said they wrote," Elena said. She had been there for most of the band's major decisions after all.

"I can't figure out _why,_" Bill said when he came back, "but this song sounds so familiar. If those boys were smart, they'd dump the singer and write more rock songs…not this country shit."

Now that Elena thought about it, the song did seem awfully familiar.

"All right, folks," Stevo said, "that's the last song in that set, 'All That I can Be.' Don't forget to tip the bar tender or us! I need a little boy's room break."

Caroline made a disgusted face. "Seriously?"

"Whoa, hell," Anna said, jumping up when Bad Romance blared from her behind. "Ass buzzing," she pulled her phone from her pocket. "Damon!"

Elena wondered why Damon was calling Anna, but she didn't have a chance to ask her as Anna walked off. Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, she turned in the direction of the band, where Matt was staring at her, an arm wrapped around April.

April definitely looked like she was complaining about something. She looked red faced all the way where Elena could see her from the bar and she waved her fingers in front of Matt's face.

"Hey," Katherine said, snapping her fingers in front of Elena's nose. "None of that. Drink some of my screw driver."

Katherine pushed her glass toward Elena, who sucked in a deep breath. Mentally, she told herself she needed to suck it up, and took a drink. The vodka overpowered the orange juice and made Elena gag. To stop herself from coughing, she chased down the awful taste with her Long Island Ice Tea.

"Bill didn't put enough orange juice in that," she protested with a cough, grimacing.

"Nope," Katherine said with a large grin.

"Well," Caroline said. She jumped off the bar and wobbled a bit. "Damon and Elijah look like they are here."

"Damon's _here?_ He's not on the phone with Anna?" Elena asked, perking up. She tried to stand then sat right back down at the lightheaded feeling. "Whoa. We've been drinking way too fast."

"Come on!" Katherine said, "Let's go get them!"

Elena felt unsteady on her feet as she tried to balance them in the high black pumps Katherine had forced her into, ignoring dirty looks from some of the older Caroline Flower patrons. Most of them were stuck up old women, it seemed, and Elena wondered why the hell it was that the band was playing so awfully tonight.

"Elijah, baby!" Katherine let go of Elena and pulled Elijah into her arms. "I missed you!"

Elena tried her damnedest to remain steady, but she still felt herself stumbling.

—

Seeing Elena so unsteady on her feet after a night of drinking brought back a rush of memories Damon buried a long time ago. Damn Katherine, Anna, and Caroline—he acted fast, catching her when she tripped over the death traps strapped to her heels.

"Whoa, Boozy," Damon said. "What the hell have our sisters and Caroline been getting Bill to give you?"

"Um… beer, some of a screw driver, and a LIIT I stole from Matt's girlfriend. I might have had a little bit of whiskey too," she giggled nervously as Damon pulled her close to him so he could steady her at the waist. Her soft, black cotton summer dress felt soft and Elena wrapped one of her arms around Damon's neck when she accidentally lost balance again on her shoes. He pushed some of her hair back as he sighed and looked down into brown eyes and shook his head with a chuckle.

Apparently a divorce party meant getting the divorcee so trashed she couldn't stand straight.

Elijah held his drunk, smiling fiancé in his arms, supporting her much the same way Damon supported Elena, although Katherine looked a bit steadier on her feet. "I knew I'd be picking them up tonight somehow," he said to Kat, who held onto him tightly even though she could still stand. "Especially after Kat let me know where they were."

Anna bounded past the boys and loudly deposited herself onto a bar stool as the band made the announcement they would be performing more original songs.

"Hey brother," Anna said. "Here to take me home?"

"Bill, why the hell did you let them drink so much?" Damon demanded. "Elena can barely stand."

"I think it's more those shoes she can't stand in," Bill said, "but I'd rather let the girls drink here where they are safe then to let them leave and go somewhere else."

He had a point.

He was seriously considering taking her back to his place, damn the consequences. It had nothing to do with the text message she sent him earlier—something Damon had a hard time trying to figure out if it was genuine or not.

"You did let Kat and Elena get too drunk," Elijah said.

"You're just mad," Caroline said, "because you're not wasted like we are. I'm shocked you didn't bring Charlie around for the divorce party break up."

Bill laughed behind the bar. "They need a decent night's sleep and a lot of water. They will be fine."

"Who the hell are they playing?" Caroline asked from her spot—she'd climbed back onto the bar.

"Oh!" Elena said. "Um, I think it's a song Stevo said they wrote."

Elijah burst into laughter. "That's a Conway Twitty cover."

"That mother—" Bill tossed a beer to a pudgy man with a credit card. "Drinks on me, buddy," he set four glasses of water on the bar. "Cutting you girls off," he said, walking toward the stage.

Anna and Kat groaned.

"I'm not nearly drunk enough," Anna said. "Ooh, can I raid your bourbon, Damon?"

"No," he quickly said to his little sister.

"Mm," Elena said as she snuggled into Damon. "You smell really good…"

"I take it you don't remember the text message, do you?" Damon asked. He figured he would try.

"The what?" Elena asked as she looked up at him.

"Nothing," Damon said, pulling her closer to him. He reached over for one of the waters. "Drink this for me, sweetie."

The awful music stopped with a screeching halt and a clang of the hi-hat. Damon looked up as he held the water for Elena. A smug looking Bill disconnected several plugs from a power strip as he threw it onto the ground.

"You boys are done," he said. "Pack your shit up. Now, I don't mind if you drink a little longer, but that's it. What the fuck is wrong with you, claiming you're playing original music when it's Conway Twitty?" his voice boomed over Stevo's protests. "You'll get your hundred bucks for the night, if you don't spend all of it all drinking."

Matt stormed over to the bar, startling Elena. "What the hell is wrong with you? I thought I made myself clear, and that song—"

"Whoa," Damon said. Elijah, Katherine, and Anna jumped to their feet. "Do _not _talk to Elena that way."

"April is upset, now our gig has been ruined!"

"Well, maybe if you weren't playing a shitty copy of a Conway Twitty song and calming you wrote it, I would have let you finish the night out," Bill said as he walked behind the bar. "As it is, you've scared off most of my customers."

"You're a real asshole," Katherine spat out, "if you expect _any _of us to give your little girlfriend respect after you left my sister. She's a dull, stupid bitch, Matt, and I couldn't be more disappointed in you." Anger and water seemed to be sobering Katherine up only a little bit, but Damon also realized she probably hadn't been drinking as much as Elena.

Matt was too close to Elena. Uncomfortable, Damon stood and moved them closer to Elijah, Katherine, Anna, and Caroline.

"Back off, man," Damon said in warning.

"You shouldn't have let her drink so much," the singer said. "Dude," he turned to Bill. "If we agreed to stick to cover music only, think we could—"

"Hell no," Bill growled.

"Go fuck yourself, Stevo," Elena finally spoke up, and stood too fast as she tried to step away from Damon.

"Why the hell did you wear these death traps?" Damon asked.

"It was my idea," Caroline said proudly. "They make her legs look sexy."

Damon couldn't help but look. Caroline was right.

Despite any earlier misgivings he might have felt, he pulled Elena even closer and wrapped both arms around her waist so she couldn't try to move again.

Damon looked at the woman who had an arm wrapped around Matt. Elena made a strange noise in the back of her throat and tried to walk off again, but he locked his arms around her.

April was nowhere near as beautiful as Elena.

"You're both real trash," Katherine spat.

"Now listen here—" April started to say.

"We should all go," Damon said. He turned to Anna, Kat, and Elijah. "You don't mind getting my sister home, do you?"

"No problem," Elijah said.

"Elena has a room upstairs, I can help you—"

Damon smoothed some of Elena's hair from her face. "I've got her, and I don't want to leave her alone for the night. I think I'm going to take her back to my place."

Katherine crossed her arms. "If you do _anything—_"

"I'm going back to your house?" Elena asked, her eyes searching his.

They completely ignored Stevo's angry rants.

"You know what?" Elena asked. She stopped Damon and wiggled in the death grip he had on her waist until she was facing him.

"Elena, let's just—"

"Screw this."

Elena grabbed the collar of Damon's shirt and crashed her lips to his. Her shoes made her taller, but she still had to pull Damon down. Her lips were just as soft as he remembered them as she backed him toward a bar stool. Someone yelled, "get a room!' when a beer bottle clashed to the floor.

He couldn't kiss her back. He had Bekah, but Elena was the woman who made his heart race from one simple text. That thought in mind, Damon forgot everything else and joined his lips to hers, returning the kiss. For a moment, nothing mattered, not even that he was seeing someone who wasn't ever around, or that he'd been a stupid punk when he pushed Elena away because he had strong feelings for her, or that he had worried he would never be able to kiss her again after she got married.

Katherine, Anna, and Caroline's cat calls made them both blush and pull away.

Matt glared daggers as Damon started to lead Elena out of the bar.

"N-no, wait, Damon," Elena protested. "I want my bed here."

"You are too trashed for me to leave you alone."

"I'll be fine," Elena giggled. "I just want my bed, and my stuffed bear, and to watch old re-runs of _Buffy_."

Not knowing what else to do, Damon shot a look to Katherine.

"Ugh," Katherine rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself already and just spend the night with her and give her lots of water."

"I don't know if everyone will fit into the truck," Elijah said. "I'm sure as hell not sticking a drunk Elena in the truck bed."

"You're," Damon said, point to Elijah, "an asshole. Just get my sister to Stefan's safe."

"Oh!" Caroline shrieked. "Purse! Elena, take your purse."

"Your mother is going to fucking kill me when I call her to pick you up…" Bill grumbled.

"That's okay!" Katherine said. "We'll give her a ride home, right baby?"

Anna smirked at him. Damon glared after his little sister before he turned around with Elena and led her up the stairs to her room.

Screw all of them. Assholes. Damon didn't mind taking care of Elena but he wasn't sure if he would be able to maintain any type of control if she kissed him again. Just having her close, her hands fisted into his shirt as they took one step at a time, made it damn near impossible for him to think.

"Do you have your key?" he asked. "Which room are you in?"

"Um…" Elena said, "dunno."

"Is it in your purse, or your bra…?"

Elena giggled and took a small step back from him, patting down her breasts. "Nah. My purse? But dunno where."

"Do I have to—all right, hand me your purse."

Damon hoped the damn key was in her purse. If he had to reach into somewhere inappropriate on Elena, he didn't know what he fucking would do. Thankfully the key was in a place very visible a sober Elena would have found within two seconds.

"Which room are you in?"

"Um… it's the one we—" she was bright red. "Yeah."

"Oh," Damon said.

As soon as he had the door unlocked he got Elena settled down at one of the table chairs. He purposely avoided the couch or the bed.

"Elena," Damon said, kneeling down in front of her. He took both of her hands. "We have a _lot _of talking to do."

"I know…" Elena said in a small voice.

He felt like a dick doing this to her now, when she had been drinking so heavily, but he had to talk to her.

"Did you kiss me because you wanted to? Or did you do that because you're drunk and you wanted to piss your husband off?"

"_Ex-husband_," Elena hiccupped. "He's my ex-husband."

Damon sighed. "I don't even know why I'm asking. You've had too much to drink."

He started to let go of her hand, but Elena held it tight.

"I didn't kiss you because I'm drunk." She raked her right hand through her hair. "Okay, I might have kissed you because I'm drunk, but I felt a little braver tonight. But I also didn't kiss you to make Matt jealous."

Damon pulled his phone out and looked at it, trying to decide if he wanted to show the text to her or not.

"Do you remember this?"

Elena squinted at his screen. "I'm seeing a lot of double every letter," she said.

"You called me stupid…told me we might have been married if I hadn't been."

"Oh, God!" Elena sat up straight with wide eyes.

"Yeah… We've both been stupid."

"Ugh, well that, but I'm gonna be sick."

Damon groaned, and rushed her to the bathroom.

—

"Cute PJs," he said once she came out of the bathroom. Damon, wanting to stay until he was sure Elena wasn't going to get sicker even though she refused to let him come into the bathroom after he helped her, had kicked off his shoes and relaxed on the other bed while Elena changed. She wore a black tank top and a pair of navy shorts that showed off her long legs.

Elena crawled into the bed next to him. "Thanks."

"Do you feel any better?" Damon asked, resting his arms behind his head.

"Um, I only threw up that little bit, so I think I'll be okay."

Damon started to stand. "Well, I'll let you have the bed."

"No," Elena said, "lay with me?"

"Elena… I don't think that's a good idea."

"I just need you right now," Elena said. "I want to be able to talk to you in the morning and know that I haven't somehow screwed up with you too."

Well, how could he say "no" to her when she was looking at him like that? Damon wanted to roll his eyes at her, and his natural reaction was to tell her she just kissed him because she was drunk and trying to piss off Matt, that it was wrong he even thought about kissing her back when he was in a long distance relationship, but he stopped himself before he could let himself get too irrationally angry. He stood up.

"Wait, please—"

Damon pulled back the covers and climbed underneath them. He pulled Elena into his arms, and she immediately relaxed against him.

"Just go to sleep, Elena. I'll be here for you in the morning."

Annndddddd….. there you guys have it. Again, please leave a review! I have to get back to work now…spent the whole 30 minutes freaking over if everything was okay or not. If you see any names not TVD related, it might be from some of the original writing—please don't hesitate to point this out to me!


	9. Chapter Eight

This makes the last chapter update this week for CG-more author notes on it below. Make sure that if you feel confused, you go back to read chapter six!

Thanks for beta'ing, Kate!

* * *

Chapter Eight

_Elena nervously stared at her cell phone. She knew she had to call Damon, but she didn't want to be the first one to admit she had been in the wrong. They had gotten into a stupid, petty fight about him spending too much time with his new girlfriend, Rose, when he told her he wasn't going to be able to make it home for a weekend during the summer. _

_ She was being stupid when she started that fight and she knew it. Damon was older than her and she was still just a lowly freshman in high school. But this fight had caused her _best _friend to miss her sixteenth birthday party and she wasn't sure if she could forgive herself letting the fight go on so long. _

_Two months was too long to go without talking to Damon. _

_Elena shook her head, told herself she was more mature and above a petty fight, and dialed Damon's number. _

"Hey, Elena," _he said not five seconds later._

"_Hi…" _

"_I'm sorry," they both said at the same time after a few seconds of awkward silence. _

"It's funny you called me first_," Damon said. _"I was about to give you a call."

"_We were being stupid," Elena said. "I didn't mean to get so mad at you just because you wanted to spend time with your girlfriend. I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you." _

"Rose and I broke up. We really got into a fight this time for no reason,"_ he said. _"I'm sorry I didn't come see you that weekend."

_Before she could stop herself, tears sprang to Elena's eyes and she sniffled. _

"Hey… what's wrong?" _Damon asked. _

"_It's nothing," Elena said, but she _sounded _like she was crying, even when she added, "I'm fine." _

"_Elena…I'm so sorry I didn't come see you. I was busy with summer classes." _

"_You missed my birthday. You never miss my birthdays." _

"_I feel like an asshole," Damon said. _

"_Well, you can be," Elena said. "You missed my birthday, and now Caroline is stupid because she's graduating a year early and she has this hot guy she's going with to homecoming, Elijah and Kat have started dating, and I don't have my best friend at home because you're in college two hours away." _

"_Elena… I'm sorry. I don't have any good excuses. You shouldn't have jumped onto me like you did, but please stop crying." _

_Elena sniffled loud. "I know I was, but I can't help it. I missed you, jerk."_

"Why are you so upset about homecoming? Didn't you get Matt Donovan to ask you out?"

"_Ugh. No," Elena said a few minutes later. "He's not the least bit interested in me right now. I'm actually thinking about not going, it's just a stupid dance anyway." Elena felt a little calmer. She wished Damon was there to hug her because his hugs always made everything better. _

"Don't be silly, Katherine and Caroline will go and then you'll start complaining to me about all the fun they had together and how much you wished would have gone,"_ Damon said. _

"_Well… maybe." _

"How about I make it up to you_?" Damon asked. _"I'm coming home that weekend. I'll be your date."

_Elena turned bright red at the thought of Damon coming home just to go with her to a stupid high school dance. She was trying to be more honest with herself because she felt like that was a grown-up thing to do now that she was sixteen, and as a result of this while she didn't talk to Damon for two months, she realized she was starting to develop feelings for him. They completely snuck up on her and she wasn't sure what she wanted to do about it yet. _

"_Well… if taking a high schooler to a dance won't ruin your badass college boy image…" _

_Damon chuckled at her. _"It won't, baby."

_Elena's heart did a little leap. "Okay. Take me to the dance. I'm going to wear something pink, I think." _

_The thought of his arms wrapped around her the whole night had her stomach feeling like stupid butterflies were dancing inside and all of the other stupid corny romance things. She needed to stop it, Elena told herself. They had been friends for years and Damon probably never thought about being with her that way because she was like a sister to him. _

"Of course you are_," he laughed again. _"Listen… I missed you."

_Her heart did another little leap. "I missed you too. Please, let's not _ever _fight like that again. I don't think I'd survive it."_

—

Elena had been up for ten minutes.

When she began drinking the night before, she never intended for her emotions to get the best of her. She never meant to send Damon a text message—of which she had read again at least twice since she woke up—and she certainly hadn't meant to kiss him. If it hadn't been for the fact that he was lying beside her in bed, with her head tucked against his shoulder while he held him to her with his arm around her waist, she might have regretted her actions.

She might as well give in and admit to herself she still cared about him deeply.

It was a scary thought. Elena wasn't sure if she could trust any man after her divorce, especially when it was so fresh in her mind, and after her ex-husband had made her feel so low the night before. This was _Damon_ who had his arms wrapped around her. He'd been her best friend once. She'd been in love with him when she let him take her virginity. He wouldn't be with her now if he didn't still care about her, right?

"You're thinking too loudly, Elena," Damon said, his voice thick with sleep.

"Oh, don't be silly," she said, moving away from him so she could sit up.

"Where do you think you're going?" His arms locked around her torso as he pulled her back to him, and caused her to let out a small squeal as he snuck in a tickle to her ribs when her head hit a pillow.

"Stop that," she said through a giggle, smacking his shoulder.

Damon propped himself on his elbow and looked down at her. "Are you okay? Do you have a headache or anything?"

Elena shook her head. "I'm surprised I don't… thank you for taking care of me last night."

Damon smoothed some of her hair from her eyes. "I couldn't leave you alone."

That was a problem though, wasn't it? They couldn't seem to leave each other alone. No one seemed to want to let them do that either, not since Elena moved back.

Elena didn't stop Damon when he leaned down to kiss her. She welcomed it, no matter that something in the back of her head told her she shouldn't when she kissed him back as his soft lips moved against hers.

"I miss you," Elena finally said, "so much."

"I'm right here, baby," he said, his blue eyes soft as he looked down at her.

"I know but… Damon, how did we let ourselves mess up our friendship so bad?"

"Well—" he started.

Elena quickly put her fingers over his mouth. "I know. I got married. But you also didn't have to run from me the night after we made love. I still can't understand why you didn't think we would be okay together as a couple."

Damon smoothed her hair back again unnecessarily but Elena didn't mind. It was an old habit he developed when they were young. She'd been in a stage where she always wanted to hide her face and he hated it. She always loved the feel of his fingers in her hair and so eventually she used to do it just so he'd touch her.

"We did make love that night, didn't we?"

Elena nodded slowly. "We did…"

Damon buried his head in her neck and pulled her close when Elena thought it couldn't have been possible to be any closer to him. She loved the feel of his arms wrapped around her body and the soft tickle of his breath against her skin. He smelled like his favorite Axe shampoo, which just so happened to be hers by default because it always reminded her of him.

"You would have married me?" he finally asked, looking at her again. She missed the feel of his head buried in her neck.

She wasn't going to let herself cry, dammit.

"A lot of things might have been different if we hadn't gone those six months not talking to each other," Elena said. "That was one of the reasons I married Matt and fled town the first chance I had." Her heart thudded so fast she could feel it.

Damon said nothing to her, kissing her instead. Elena returned the kiss and deepened it with her tongue. She arched into Damon's hand when it found one of her nipples underneath her shirt and she laced her fingers into his hair.

"Damn it," Damon swore suddenly. He pulled away suddenly and moved to the edge of the bed, running his right hand over his face. Utterly confused, Elena sat up and scooted next to him.

"Damon… what's wrong?"

"Baby, I want to do this. I feel like I've been doing nothing but waiting for you for six years, but we can't."

"Why the hell not?" Elena demanded.

"I have a girlfriend." Elena slapped him before she could think to stop herself.

Reeling back, Damon growled out, "what the hell?"

Tears sprang to her eyes as she scampered off the bed to the door. "Get out of here," she demanded, opening the door.

"Elena, don't be that way—"

"Don't you dare tell me what way I should be," she said. This felt worse than when Matt told her he was cheating on her. "I want you out of here."

"If you would just fucking listen to me—"

"You have a girlfriend!" Elena shrieked. "You just—it didn't _occur _to you tell me about it earlier? You let me—" Before she knew it, she was full on sobbing. "Just get out of here."

"What did you think I would do last night when you sent me such a loaded text message last night and then kissed me in front of _everyone_?" Damon roared. "Goddammit, Elena, you can't just blow back into my life like this."

"I didn't blow back into your life!" She cried. "You could have just ignored me like you did the past six years!"

"I think that was the other way around when you got _married_!"

"Don't—just don't. I loved Matt."

"Well I guess that answers that question," Damon hissed. "I think you were just too drunk last night. I shouldn't have paid any attention to that text."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Elena asked, glaring at him. "You're actually going to say I don't have feelings for you?"

"Well, I don't fucking know!" Damon said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Just get out of here!" Elena said. Something in the back of her mind told her this fight they were having was very stupid, but she just didn't care. She didn't want to see Damon. "Getoutgetoutgetout!"

"Fine, I will!" Damon stood, angrily grabbed his wallet and keys from the nightstand, and stomped toward the door.

"Just for the record, cheating is a real _asshole _thing to do," Elena hissed as he walked past her. "I won't be the other woman, Damon, I was in my marriage."

Damon paused to stare at Elena for a moment while she continued to glare at him through her tears. She gasped in surprise when he suddenly took her hand, laced their fingers together, and gently pushed her against the wall. He smoothed some of her hair back with his other hand. "You won't _ever _be the other woman with me," his face was so close to hers, she wondered if he was going to kiss her again, "but you're so intent on playing the goddamned victim that it makes me want to have nothing to do with it, Elena. Did it ever occur to you that you married to a douchebag who was always going to take advantage of you?" he let her hand go and moved away from her. He ran a hand over his hair and exhaled sharply. "Fuck this. When you grow up maybe we can fix whatever the hell just happened."

Elena gulped, staring at him incredulously as he walked down the hallway, breathing hard as she tried to gain control of her anger and tears.

—

"_Damon, are you okay?" _

"I'm fine, Bekah," Damon managed. He felt like a frog had itself lodged in his throat. Not five minutes after he had a fight with Elena about her, his girlfriend decided to call him from her study abroad program in Italy.

_"You don't sound okay. What's wrong?" _

"It's nothing," Damon said, clearing his throat. "How was the class dig in Pompeii?"

_"It was amazing, Damon. I got to map out the remains of an actual house and I found an old mosaic underneath what must have been tons of volcanic ash. I really miss you, but I'm so glad I decided to go on this trip." _

"Awesome," Damon said.

He felt like a total dick because he was on the phone with his girlfriend and he couldn't give a rat's ass about her archeological dig in Italy when he was sure Elena was back in her room in The Mae Flower still crying her eyes out. He realized he shouldn't be on the road and so he listened to Bekah rattle off why she loved being in Italy while he tried to catch his breath. For a brief moment, he thought about just breaking it off with Bekah while he had her on the phone.

That would make him an even bigger ass. He couldn't do that to her. He sort of loved her, no matter what fucked up situation he was in with Elena. He didn't care what his sister said about Bekah, she was a decent girl. She might be a little too driven to achieve a higher education, but that was a good thing for a girl at the age of twenty.

_"Damon? Are you even listening to me?"_ Bekah asked, snapping Damon's attention back to their phone conversation.

"Yeah, I'm still here," Damon said. "Sorry, I'm just driving. I had to pull to the side of the road."

_"Why didn't you tell me?"_ Bekah asked, her voice raising a little. He could imagine the scowl she probably had on her face. _"You know I hate talking to you when you're driving. It's not safe!"_

"Sorry, babe. I think I'm going to have to let you go. Call me later?"

_"I'll try to. I think we're going back to Pompeii today. I need a nap before we leave though," _as if to put further emphasis on how tired she was, Bekah yawned loudly. _"Love you." _

"Yeah, bye," Damon said.

Before she could question why he didn't give her the usual "love you" back, Damon disconnected the call and shoved his phone into his pocket. He took in a deep breath and leaned his head against the steering wheel and wondered why the hell he hadn't listened to Alaric, hell, even his sister when they told him he needed to break up with Bekah. Maybe if he had, he'd be with Elena right now.

He meant it when he told her she had some growing up to do. Maybe he still did too but he was so tired of the constant back and forth they always seemed to have. It had been like that even when they were kids but it seemed to get worse as they got older. Damn if he didn't feel guilty as hell for leaving Elena in tears.

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Alaric.

_ Think you and Elijah can man the shop alone today?_

_ Alaric: Yeah, sure buddy. Something up?_

Damon wanted to tell Alaric what was up, but then he remembered how his male friends had a tendency to gossip like fucking women. He didn't need what just happened between him and Elena to be talked about and analyzed to death. He was one-hundred percent positive that if Anna was home, and knew Elena was upset, that he would have to be ready to catch her flying claws to protect him from getting his face scratched.

He was right in his assumption that he'd have to duck his sister's claws. As soon as he walked in the door, Damon caught Anna's hands.

"Elena just called me in fucking tears," Anna hissed. "What happened?"

"Can we please not do this?" Damon asked tiredly.

"Like hell we aren't doing this right now!" Anna said. "You had to do it. I've been stressing myself out trying to get the two of you numbskulls to stop dancing around each other and _just _when things are going well you had to bring up that you're boning a blonde numbskull that isn't ever around anyway!"

"Anna, maybe you didn't hear me. I _can't _do this right now," Damon said.

"I call bullshit! She's so heart broken, Damon."

Damon couldn't stop Anna when she smacked his shoulder as hard as she could.

"Oh, why don't you go take a damn Valium," Damon hissed, shoving past her. His shoulder stung where she hit him but he brushed it off, somehow unable to deny the fact that he probably deserved a lot worse.

He heard his sister gasp. She was such a drama queen. "I can't believe this person in front of me is my brother," Anna said with disbelief. "Don't tell me you're going to actually keep saying this chick is really who you choose over _Elena." _

"She's not, _okay_?" Damon burst out. "But I can't think about Elena right now. I have a lot more issues with her than I thought I did and I don't think either one of them are something I will ever going to be able to get over."

"That's such a cop out," Anna said. "I'm so tired of my heart breaking for the two of you. I thought you were both stubborn when you were kids and got into petty fights, but Damon, this is going too far. What are you going to do if she runs from town and you don't see her for another six years?"

Damon scoffed. "She wouldn't do that."

"She was talking about it on the phone with me and Katherine in a three way call before you came home," Anna told him. "I'm going over there right now to stop her from packing her stuff. I can't even look at you right now."

Anna grabbed her purse and stormed out of the house, slamming the door with a _bang! _

—

Elena lay in the bed with Caroline, her head buried into her best friend's neck as she cried harder than she had since Matt told her he wanted a divorce. She felt like she couldn't catch her breath. Katherine ran her hand up and down her back with a sigh.

"Damon is just a big stupid asshole," Anna ranted. "He hasn't seen Bekah in over a year because she was always busy with school and then she went on this big fancy dig or something in Italy and they might talk on the phone once every two weeks." Her boots thumped against the floor as she paced. "At most she's just a booty call."

"I still think he was wrong in not telling her first," Caroline said.

"Of course he was! What a—I should—" Elena cried harder and Caroline hugged her tighter.

"Anna…" Katherine said. "Dial down the rage at Damon. I don't think it's going to help anyone."

Anna huffed as she pulled a chair out and threw her purse onto a table as loud as she could. "I can't believe he told me to take a Valium."

"Elena honey…" Caroline said. "Talk to us. You need to calm down or you're going to hyperventilate."

Too late for that warning, Elena thought, since she'd already been hyperventilating when Caroline found her twenty minutes ago.

No one said anything for a few minutes. Elena told herself she needed to calm down but it felt so hard because she just wanted to curl up and keep crying. Damn it—she told herself she was stronger than that, and so she pulled away from Caroline and sat up. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and took a few slow, deep breaths.

"You know," Elena said, "I shouldn't even let myself be upset by my fight with Damon," her voice hitched a little as she spoke. She swallowed thickly.

"Of course you should," Katherine said.

"I thought things were going okay after last night…" Caroline said. "What happened after he told you he has a girlfriend?"

"I keep telling the three of you that bitch isn't his girlfriend," Anna hissed.

"I don't even know why the fight went in the direction it did," Elena said. "I slapped him and then the next thing I know, he's accusing me of not having real feelings for him when things would have been a lot different if we didn't do that thing where we're stubborn and don't talk to each other for months. I don't know how he can think that, girls. I don't think I ever stopped loving him, but everything with Matt has me so _screwed _up I don't feel like my head is on straight."

Elena angrily swiped away more tears that were running down her face.

Anna said nothing as she moved to the bed. Making Katherine move over, she reached for Elena and wrapped her up in a hug. Elena pushed back the urge to start ugly crying again.

"I think you both did the thing you always do and blew up at each other when emotions were running high," Katherine said. Elena pulled away from Anna and opened her mouth to say something, but Katherine shook her head and held her hand up, stopping Elena from saying anything. "Don't deny it. You need to apologize to each other."

"Screw that," Elena bit out. "It's not like I'm sixteen and seeking his attention because I don't have a date to homecoming anymore. I don't feel like I have anything to apologize for."

"You guys can't keep doing this to each other," Caroline said. "What are you going to do? He's business partners with your dad, his mom and your mom are close friends, and he's here all the time with Elijah and Alaric. You work here. I'm not always going to be able to cover you if they need a bar tender and I'm swamped taking orders from someone else."

"I should just move back to Kentucky," Elena said. "At least there I was more established. I could get a cheaper apartment and maybe get into UofL for my graduate program. No, maybe I'll even go to EKU for my Masters because I've heard they have good graduate programs."

"I'm not losing my sister for another six years," Katherine said. "I can't do that. I'm helping you deal with your shit right now, but I need you to help me deal with my shit as soon as you get yours straightened out," she reached for Elena's hand.

"Oh come on," Elena said. "What is going on with you?"

Katherine purse her lips and then shook her head, "it's nothing," she said. "I'm more worried about you right now. You're talking about leaving town, Elena. We can't let you do that."

"How are you going to afford anything if you leave?" Anna asked. "I know your divorce cleaned out your bank account."

"I talked to Daddy when I moved home. He told me he'd give me money if I needed it," Elena said.

"Come on…" Caroline said. She took Elena's other hand. "You can't move again right now, not when I'm about to move back home myself."

"Why are you moving back home?" Anna asked.

"I totally don't want to change the subject on Elena," Caroline said.

"No, _please _change the subject," Elena said, wiping her eyes again. "I'm so sick of crying. I feel like I do nothing but cry anymore."

"Okay, well, Dad hasn't been his best lately. He's got an old back injury from when he worked in construction that has been acting up on him lately and mom does work here, but she has her side business selling knitted stuff on Etsy and it's been picking up for her lately, so she's thinking about doing that full time. I'm really burned out from school and everyone in New York. I've only been home a few weeks and I've realized how much I miss everyone."

"Caroline," Elena said, "you can't drop out of school."

"I can't decide what I want to do. I keep changing my major. At this point, it's costing me more to live up North than I can afford. I like working at home with you anyway, Elena"

A loud buzzing sound from the direction of Anna's purse made all three of them jump. Anna frowned for a second but then turned back toward Katherine, Elena, and Caroline.

"You do need to finish school," Anna said to Caroline, "but I won't say I'll be sad if you drop out. There are a dozen universities nearby anyway."

"Do you need to get your phone?" Elena asked.

"No, I'm not worried about it." Anna shook her head dismissively. Shortly after, her phone stopped buzzing, only to start again.

"I think it's a great idea for you to move back," Katherine said to Caroline. "You know what? We can help you shop for apartments in town."

"That would be great," Caroline said. "I actually was going to suggest the four of us get the hell out of here and go to New York for a few days to pack up my—"

"Oh damn it," Anna said, standing up. "I can't ignore my phone. Something might be wrong, and Amy is still with Stefan. Going to New York sounds like a great idea for the three of you," Anna said. "I wouldn't be able to."

"I wouldn't mind getting out of town." Elena said.

"Of course you want to get out of town," Katherine said. Anna was digging for her phone while Katherine reached over and grabbed one of Elena's hands. "I wonder if I could convince Alaric and Elijah to kick Damon's ass for you."

Elena shook her head furiously. "There's no reason for that, Kat."

"T.J.?" Anna asked as she answered her phone. "You don't have to call me five times in a row—Sorry, girls, I need to go take this."

"Hang up the phone," Katherine hissed. "You do not need to talk to him."

"I'm sorry, I've got to take it," Anna said.

"Wait, who is T.J.?" Elena asked.

"He's Anna's ex-boyfriend," Katherine said. "He got deported back to Canada six months ago. He didn't have a proper work visa even though he worked for Damon sometimes and when he came across the border he told them he was only visiting the States for two weeks."

"Ugh!" Caroline groaned. "Enough with the man drama! Can I drag you both to New York for a few days to help me pack up my apartment or not?"

—

"I ought to kick your ass for fighting with Elena again," Elijah said four days later while he and Alaric were doing inventory on parts with Damon in the shop.

"Do I really want to know?" Damon asked, scribbling a checkmark on his clipboard.

"Katherine keeps bitching to me about how heartbroken Elena is over the two of you getting into another fight. The girls are coming home today with a U-Haul full of Caroline's stuff and I'm dragging your ass with me to help them."

"I can't do a damn thing about Katherine bitching to you," Damon said as he threw a clip board onto a tool drawer.

"You can," Elijah said. "Apologize to Elena."

"I wish everyone would stay the hell out of our business and stop talking to me about Elena," Damon said.

"Well, at least you finally listened to me and broke things off with Rebekah."

"Don't bring that up," Damon grimaced. "I felt shitty doing it over the phone."

Nonstop, the past four days, Anna had been riding his ass to give Elena a call. Apparently she was miserable and she wasn't able to enjoy herself in New York. She was helping Caroline pack up her damn apartment, _of course_ she wasn't enjoying herself because moving was a real bitch. Elena also hadn't called him so Damon assumed she was really just still pissed off at him.

He wasn't going to tell anyone this—sure as hell not Alaric and Elijah—but he wished Elena would call him, and they could work their shit out. He didn't even need to be with her at this point. They'd been going somewhere, close to friends again, before her little divorce party and Matt drama. He'd be lying if he told everyone he didn't need his best friend back. She could be as pissed off at him as she wanted to be about him having a girlfriend.

"Elijah is right," Alaric said. "You need to talk to Elena. The two of you are so stubborn it actually makes my head hurt."

"That would be all the damn bourbon you drank last night, not my argument with Elena," Damon said. "I'm not talking about this."

"Well, fine," Elijah said. "You don't have to talk about it, but you are going to help the girls move heavy shit into Caroline's apartment."

"They're tough," Damon said. "They can manage themselves."

"Absolutely not," Elijah said. "I don't want Katherine to lift anything heavy."

Alaric looked at Elijah and raised one of her eyebrows. "You didn't knock her up again did you?"

"Please tell me you didn't knock her up again, brother," Damon said.

"Yeah, she's pregnant," Elijah said with a heavy sigh. "She's freaked out because she drank so much a few days ago."

"Didn't she _just _lose one?" Alaric asked. "How can that be healthy for her?"

"This one snuck up on us," Elijah said, raking his hands over his face. "She actually had a miscarriage about a month ago… I just begged her not to tell anyone. That was shot to hell when Elena came home."

"All right," Damon said, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Fine. Yeah—I'll help the girls move everything off the truck, but only because I don't want Katherine to hurt herself." Katherine was a huge pain in his ass, but Damon still loved her like a sister.

"Apparently there are things they can do to make her have an easier pregnancy but—" Elijah sighed heavily. "Damon, if you don't apologize to Elena for yourself, at least do it for Katherine because it's stressing her the hell out."

"Do Caroline and Elena know?" Damon asked.

"No," Elijah said. "She'd kill me if she knew I told you guys."

"I'm not making any promises," Damon said, "but I won't fight with Elena anymore either."

Oh, who the hell was Damon kidding? He was probably going to beg Elena to forgive him. If she wanted him to, he'd beg on his on his knees.

* * *

The characters for this story are upsetting me a little, so this is the last one I'm posting for a week or so. I have one more written, but it's one that has me blocky on writing the next. I'm sure I'll get over that really quick, as I always do with this story, but I also don't want to subject you to a month long wait either (very unlikely-Elvishgrrl keeps calling me a machine because I have been writing so much!)

Please be sure to revew!


	10. Chapter Nine

This is the chapter that upset me very bad. I don't want to say to get tissues, but at least be sensitive when you leave a review. It's also the last one I've got written already, but I've been writing this story so fast I don't think you guys will have to wait for an update more than a week or two.

Much love to Kate (thisismyescape) for the beta.

_**Please keep in mind this is my novel and that all characters have a very distinct purpose even though I am using TVD characters.** _

Chapter Nine

Elena's muscles ached as Caroline pulled the U-Haul into the parking lot of her new apartment. She no longer felt the need to flee back to Kentucky as she looked at her best friend and sister. Katherine was asleep against her shoulder, exhausted from the long drive. Elena felt a little worried about her, not sure why she was so tired. She had been acting strange the past two days and neither Elena nor Caroline could figure out why. It wasn't the normal kind of tired someone felt from moving.

"Well, we're here," Caroline said. "My new home sweet home."

"I can't believe you found a two bedroom town house for such a good rent price," Elena said as Caroline turned the truck off.

"That's the beauty of this town," Caroline said. "Rent for half a grand a month. It's so much better than the thousand-whatever I paid up North."

"Hey, Kat," Elena said, gently shaking Katherine's shoulder. "We're here."

Katherine gave a sleepy groan after a few seconds but sat up. "We are?"

"Yeah," Elena said. "Come on. Help me get some of the boxes off the truck."

Elena opened the passenger door and hopped out of the truck just as Damon's Camaro pulled into the apartment complex's parking lot.

"Kat," Elena said, grabbing her sister's hand after she climbed out of the U-Haul. "You guys didn't tell me Damon and Elijah would be here to unload."

"I'm not carrying Caroline's big ass dresser into her apartment," Katherine said.

"Yeah but—"

Caroline hurried around the other side of the truck. "He's just here to help, sweetie," she said. "In fact, we don't even need your help if you just want a ride back to The Mae Flower."

"You're seriously going to give me a ride back in the U-Haul?" Elena hissed, rising one of her eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure Damon isn't going to let anyone drive his car."

"Oh…" Caroline said. "I hadn't thought of that."

Katherine pulled her hair from her pony tail. "I don't see what such the big deal is," she said, gathering her hair back into her hands before snapping her hair band back into place a couple times over her hair. "Yes. You were both idiots. Caroline needs everyone's help right now, so just don't talk to him."

Elena started to say something but her phone started to buzz in her back pocket. "Great," she said as she looked at the caller ID on the screen. "Matt is calling me. This is _just _what I need."

"Don't talk to that dickhead," Caroline said. "What could he possibly have to say to you after the drama at my dad's bar?"

"I'm still trying to be friends with him," Elena said. Matt had apologized to her in texts about his behavior, and as she always did with him, she couldn't help but forgive him. "I won't be long, I just need to see what he wants. I still have a few of his things in my storage unit."

Katherine and Caroline seemed to share a knowing look, and Elena huffed in exasperation.

"Come _on,_" Elena said. "I won't take long, I'm just going to go around the side of the apartment and talk to him."

—

"I wonder what the three of them are whispering to each other about," Damon said as he looked at the girls. Elijah had ridden his ass all day to be here. Damon was still debating with himself over whether or not he wanted to apologize to Elena, but in the end he just really missed her even though it had been three days. He didn't even need to tell her he broke up with Rebekah. He just wanted her to agree to try to be friends again, but he had to figure out how to do that first.

Elijah laughed. "Do you really need to ask that question?"

Elena was so damn beautiful, Damon thought, as he shut off his car and pulled the keys out of the ignition, even if some of her bangs were sticking straight up and the gray tee-shirt she was wearing had a big hole near the bottom. She wore a pair of black jeans and pink flats. How was it possible for him to miss her more in three days than he had the entire six years they hadn't talked to each other?

Damon realized he was staring at her when Elena looked at him for a second as he climbed out of his car. She shook her head for some reason as she said something to Caroline and Katherine before she pulled something from her pocket. Damon realized it was her phone when she walked away from the girls. Caroline's apartment was at the end of the complex and Elena walked around the corner.

"I missed you," Elijah said to Katherine as he pulled her to him for a hug. Damon had been so intent on staring at Elena he hadn't even noticed when his friend shut the passenger door.

Katherine wrapped her arms around Elijah's neck and hugged him back. "I missed you too."

"What's up with Elena?" Damon asked.

"Like you really care," Caroline said to him, her right fist shooting to her hip as she stared up at him.

"Whoa, back off Barbie, I was just curious," Damon said.

"If I didn't need help unloading my stuff from my truck, I'd be yelling at you," Caroline huffed.

Damon exhaled and held his hands up. "I'm not here to fight with anyone. Alaric is coming too, but we know you girls are probably exhausted from moving the past three days and we just want to help."

"Where is Anna?" Katherine asked. "I thought she was going to help us too."

"I haven't seen her today," Damon said. "She's been a real terror since Elena and I got into a fight, and I just didn't want to deal with it, so Amy and I have been staying with Stefan. When Anna gets like that it's just best to give her a breather."

"Hmm," Caroline said, but then she shrugged. "Okay, well I guess we should start unloading the truck."

"Matt, I've told you a million times, you can't have my guitar," Elena said.

Why was she even talking to him?

Elena asked herself this question a dozen times on a regular basis and she never could find the right answer.

_"Elena, you don't even play it,"_ Matt said. _"My acoustic got stolen from the car and I need one to practice on." _

"It's not my fault," Elena said. "You never lock the car doors." She couldn't figure out why Matt wanted her guitar so bad. "It's a cheap piece of junk, anyway, the strings haven't been replaced and I'm sure the neck is warped."

_"You really don't know what you have, do you? That's not a cheap guitar, Elena."_

"I can't believe I'm having this conversation with you," Elena muttered.

"Elena?"

Spinning around, Elena bit back the urge to groan when she saw Damon walking toward her. She wasn't going to have any luck today, was she?

"Can't talk to you right now," Elena said, covering the phone with her hand. She said it more harshly than she meant to but Matt was starting to piss her off so bad she couldn't even begin to care.

_"Elena?" _Matt asked impatiently over the phone. _"I don't know why you keep fighting me on this. You told me I could have the guitar before we got divorced—" _

"Exactly, Matt. I told you that you could have it_ before _you cheated on me."

"Is he giving you a hard time again?" Damon asked.

Elena backed away from him. He was getting too close to her, and after what happened three days ago, she didn't even want to be there. "It's okay, Damon."

_"What the hell are you doing, anyway?" _Matt asked. _"I was hoping I could get the guitar and the rest of my stuff out of the storage unit._"

"That is not happening today—_Damon!_"

"Hey buddy," Damon said as he put her phone on speaker and held it up high so Elena couldn't reach it as she jumped to grab it. It probably would have been comical to an on looker because Damon was fast, and he stopped Elena from trying to get the phone back by grabbing her hand and spinning her toward him. She let off a frustrated squeak when he held her in place, his arm firmly locked around her waist. "What's all the big fuss about?"

Elena huffed incredulously. She couldn't move because she had one of her arms pinned.

_"Stay out of our business," _Matt said through the phone. _"We're just having an argument about some of my stuff that's still in her storage unit." _

"Are you guys fighting about the Fender?" Damon asked Elena, completely ignoring Matt while he continued to bitch over the phone.

Elena silently nodded; still pissed he was holding her so tight she couldn't move.

_"It's my guitar, she doesn't realize how much it's worth—" _

"Look, Dickie," Damon said. "You're right, it's not her guitar. I happen to know _exactly _how much it's worth because it was my father's guitar and it's not really hers to give away. You were the moron who asked her for a divorce in the first place, so anything that's in her storage unit is hers now so you need to back the hell off."

Damon was defending her?

Elena bit her lower lip, telling herself she shouldn't start crying.

_"It's none of your business," _Matt said. _"Put Elena back on the phone."_

"It is my business when my best friend is so upset she's speechless," Damon growled out. "You happen to be on speaker phone, too. Stay the hell away from Elena."

With that, he pressed end on her phone.

"You can let me go now," Elena said after a few seconds. Damon still had his arm wrapped around her waist. He smelled like his damn Axe shampoo and even though she felt furious with him for taking her phone from her, he _did _sort of come to her rescue from an argument with Matt that wouldn't have ever gone anywhere productive. "I'd like my phone back too, please."

"I'll let you go only if you promise to talk to me, and if we can end the conversation without blowing up at each other."

Elena glared up at him. "I can't promise you that."

"You're still pissed, I get it, but we're not just hurting each other anymore, Elena," he said as he reached for her face.

"Don't do your thing where you brush my hair back." She felt like they were kids again when she used to pretend boys had cooties as she pulled her head as far away from him as possible.

Damon sighed and shoved her phone into her side pocket for her. Elena squeaked out a protest when he wrapped his other arm around her. He had her completely trapped, and she couldn't even be happy he told Matt off for her anymore as she became more livid with every second he didn't let her go.

"You're pissed at me, _I get it_," he said again as he looked down at her. Elena refused to look into his eyes. She loved his blue eyes, and she wasn't quite in the mood to get lost in them. "I give in this time. I'm sorry. I'm _so _sorry for everything. I miss you; you were my best friend baby. We've hurt each other a lot. I need you to give me a fresh slate because I can see our fight going in other directions, and every single one of them are too damn depressing to think about."

How _could _she stay mad at him for that? He told her he missed her. Elena would be lying if she said she didn't miss the easy friendship they used to have.

"I'm pretty sure you're only apologizing to me because Anna has been riding your ass the past three days."

Her anger may have been ebbing, but that didn't mean she was going to make it easy for him.

"No, no," Damon shook his head, pulled her closer to him, and kissed her temple even though she tried to pull away again. "I'm apologizing because fighting with you for so long hurts so damn bad. It's exhausting staying mad at you."

"Are you really going to trap me in your arms until I forgive you?"

Damon gave her a slight smirk. "I have to keep you trapped so you listen to me. Please, Elena. I miss you too damn much to keep fighting. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I had a girlfriend."

"Do you know how much I fucking hate cheating?" Elena asked him.

"Matt never deserved you, but that's neither here nor there."

"_You _still have a girlfriend."

"I broke up with her," Elena gasped when he said this, "but I'm not asking you to be in a relationship. I'm just asking for you to let me have my best friend back."

That was when the dam broke and tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to tell him he didn't have to break up with his girlfriend—and she couldn't be sure that was the reason he did it—but she just wanted her best friend back too.

"Don't cry, baby…"

"How can I be sure we're not going to blow up at each other again? Or that it's not going to _hurt _being in love with you but only trying to be friends?"

_Damn _it. She looked him in the eyes when she said it and she was unable to look away. She saw the surprise register on his face at her confession, felt his arms lock around her tighter. She stopped trying to fight him and gave in and hugged him back as well as she could with her arms trapped against her waist.

"I'm in love with you too…" he told her. Her tears did fall this time when her heart gave a little lurch. "But I think Matt hurt you too much for you to jump right back into another relationship. We hurt each other too much to be in one. I think we need to learn how to trust each other again first."

"Unpin me so I can hug you, you big jerk," Elena sniffed.

"You're not going to haul off and slap me again, are you?"

Elena shook her head. "No, I won't. You're right. We need to learn to trust each other again, or I don't think we're ever going to get anywhere."

"Do you think we can be friends again even though those kinds of feelings are involved?" he asked. Elena didn't stop him this time when he pushed back her hair and wiped a few tears from her face. She responded by leaning her head against his chest and hugging him as tight as she could.

"We need to try. It's like you said, the alternatives are just too damn depressing. I need you, Damon, I've needed you for six years."

"I'm here for you now…" he said to her. "If Matt gives you anymore trouble, you come to me, okay?"

Elena sniffed and nodded as she looked up at him. "Normally I can handle his stupidity but with the way the past few days have been…"

"I get it, baby. I just hate seeing him hurt you. You need to stop letting him do that."

Elena jumped when she felt a buzzing against her hip.

"Oh geez," she said. "That's probably him again," she added with a hiss.

"Just ignore it," Damon said. He gently took her hand and pulled it away from her jeans pocket. Elena hadn't even realized she reached for it.

"Stop looking at me like that," Elena said. He was starting to do his eye-thing, the one that made it hard for her to pass off the urge to kiss him as nothing.

"What way am I looking at you?"

"All smoldering and like you want to kiss me."

"Maybe I do…"

Elena pulled back and threw up her hands. "This is why I think we can't be friends!"

Damon barked a laugh and tugged her back to him in another hug. "We just have to learn how to deal with this, okay? Stop trying to get away from me, I told you I'm holding onto you until you stop fighting me."

Elena huffed at him but eventually tried getting away again because he had her arms trapped once more. "I won't let you be my rebound."

"I'm not asking for anything romantic, Elena. I'm just asking for my best friend back. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but I'll keep telling you until you get it through your thick skull."

"Will you two stop being all romantic and shit and come help Elijah unload the truck?" Damon let go of Elena fast and they both span around to see an annoyed Katherine with her arms crossed against her chest. "I'm not lifting a damn thing that is heavy."

"We aren't!" Elena squeaked in embarrassment. Why was her voice squeaking so much today?

"We were just apologizing to each other, Kat," Damon said.

Katherine raised a perfect eyebrow as she observed them. "Not to quote Spike from _Buffy_ or anything," she said, "but you're not friends. You'll never _be_ friends. You'll be in love until it kills you both."

—

Fucking Katherine, Damon thought, as he watched Elena help Caroline when she almost dropped a particularly heavy box.

Things had improved immensely since he apologized to Elena, but at the same time there was this awkward tension between them and he blamed Katherine because she had to quote her favorite damn show. Damon knew for a fact Elena loved _Buffy _as well and it must have shaken her up because the two sisters were that serious about their fan-girling over a television show. At least she was talking to him again, and he didn't feel like he had to be angry at her anymore. Elena's anger at him seemed to be gone too.

"The lovesick look on you doesn't look good, man," Alaric said.

"Fuck you," Damon growled out.

"Stop staring at Elena's ass and help me with this couch," Elijah said as Katherine and Elena went inside.

There was Katherine and her lame ass love quote from _Buffy, _and then there were these two clowns.

"Has anyone tried to call Anna?" Caroline asked from the U-Haul as she pushed some the last boxes forward. "She isn't picking up her phone and I feel like _killing _her because she hasn't picked up her phone since yesterday."

"You didn't tell me that," Damon said. "I figured she was just too pissed off at me to answer the phone yesterday." He took his phone from his pocket and looked at it. Earlier he sent Anna a text, _"Elena and I made up. Happy?" _and there wasn't an answer yet. This was very unlike Anna. Stefan had wanted to take Amy home the night before, but Damon convinced him to keep her one more night because he figured Anna would be there to help them unload the truck.

"She might just be blowing off some steam by writing," Alaric said.

Damon didn't think to ask him about how he knew Anna was a writer. She hardly let anyone know she kept journals, but he couldn't care about it as he scrolled through his contacts and found her number.

"It's going straight to voicemail," Damon said. "That means either her phone is dead and she forgot to charge it, or she's ignoring me too."

"How can she be ignoring _everyone_?" Caroline asked. "Hey, Katherine, Elena, come out here for a second!"

Holy hell, Caroline had a loud voice. All three men cringed while she hollered. Elena and Katherine came out immediately.

"What's wrong?" Elena said.

"Have either one of you talked to Anna today?" Elijah asked.

Elena and Katherine looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"I haven't," Elena said.

"Neither have I. Did you see her doing her morning jog, Eli?" Katherine asked.

"No, I didn't, come to think of it," Elijah said.

Damon started to feel an uneasy lump form itself in his throat as his stomach churned. Anna _always _answered her phone, and she was _always _up in the morning to wave to Elijah and Katherine on her morning jogs.

"I need to go check on her," Damon said. "Do you think you guys can deal with the couch and the dresser yourselves?" he asked Alaric and Elijah.

"Yeah, no problem," Alaric said. "I'm sure she's fine and we're just worrying about her for no reason."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Elena asked.

He wanted to take her with him, so badly, but Damon shook his head. "I don't know what I'm walking in on when I go back home," he explained when she when she gave him a hurt look. "She is probably fine, but her ex-boyfriend started in on his shit when we got into our argument again and—"

"It's okay," Elena said. "Go check on your sister."

"Tell her I'm pissed off and I'm forcing her to keep that shopping date with me!" Caroline said as Damon turned and walked to his Camaro.

He didn't bother to respond to her as he pulled his keys out of his pocket, opened the driver's door, and sat down. Damon sped out of the apartment complex quickly after he started the car. He dug out his phone again and called Stefan.

"Is Anna ready to take Amy back yet?"

"You don't think fighting with T.J. would cause Anna to do something really stupid, do you?"

Stefan was dead silent over the phone for a minute. "Like how do you mean?" he finally asked. "That she started self-medicating again?"

"Yeah… like she wouldn't buy some drugs to calm her down again, would she? She's been pretty pissed off at me the past three days and before that T.J. started his shit about how he misses her and wants her to come see him."

Stefan didn't say anything, as if he were speechless. Damon's heart thumped fast in his chest as he pushed the gas just a little further on the Camaro to pick up speed.

"She wouldn't be_ that_ idiotic, would she?" Damon was trying to control his speed.

"She hasn't any done drugs in almost two years, Damon. She hasn't even needed to see a therapist, even after all the stress T.J. has put her through. I don't think she would risk doing that, not with how much Amy and the rest of us need her." Stefan finally said. "What's making you ask these questions?"

"She didn't show up to help Caroline move her stuff," Damon said. "I wasn't thinking about it until someone said something. I even sent her a text message telling her Elena and I apologized to each other and there was _nothing_."

"She might have just forgotten to turn her phone back on. What if she's writing?"

"I don't know," Damon said, "but keep Amy for a while longer?"

The thirty minute drive to his house felt a lot longer than it was. By the time Damon pulled into his driveway, he had called Anna at least six more times. She hadn't picked up the phone once. This was beyond any normal level of anger and her childish resolve to ignore him because he made her angry when he upset Elena. Damon's stomach churned as he climbed out of the Camaro.

Stefan's car pulled up right beside his.

"Has she answered her phone yet?" Stefan asked, rolling down his windows.

"Damn it, Stefan," Damon said as he slammed the driver's door shut. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I dropped Amy off with Mom," Stefan said. "I wanted to check on our sister too, have a problem with that?"

Damon sighed. "No, I don't."

"Mom was actually about to come see if she was here."

"Her car is here, but that doesn't mean she's home," Damon said. Stefan walked with him toward the front door while Damon readied the key to the house. "Does it feel like something's not right?"

"I think she was just too angry at you to answer the phone," Stefan said. Damon narrowed a glare on his brother while he opened the front door.

"Anna?" Damon asked as he walked into the house. It felt too quiet. "Ann, come on! I know you're pissed off at me but this shit isn't funny. You're freaking everyone out."

Stefan shoved him. "Nice, asshole."

"What?" Damon asked.

"Anna?" Stefan asked, apparently choosing to ignore him.

Damon sighed in relief. They found her in his den lying on the couch. The television played that day's episode of _Days of Our Lives_. It looked like she had just had a little too much Sailor Jerry's rum. Anna had a higher than usual tolerance—all the Salvatore's did—but Damon still felt awful for leaving her alone for three days. By the looks of it, she had been drinking shots. Her journal and a pen were also on the coffee table in front of the couch. Her phone sat on top of her journal.

"I can't believe she was drinking alone. She knows we hate that shit," Damon grumbled as he walked over to the couch. "Anna, wake your ass up."

"Remember when she used to be late to school all the time when we were kids?" Stefan asked as he walked around the coffee table. He kneeled down next to her and shook her. "Ann?"

Damon looked around his den as Stefan tried to wake Anna up, and that was when he saw another bottle underneath the coffee table. "What the hell? She was drinking Everclear?" he bent down to pick the bottle up, and that was when he saw the plastic bag.

"Fuck, Anna isn't breathing!"

* * *

I need a hug, I think.

Part of the reason I posted the chapter today was so I wouldn't delete the last 2,000 something words. On one hand, the story is halfway finished. My goal is 80,000 and then whatever it needs to get finished up. Can't believe I've written so much lately.


	11. Chapter Ten

**_HOLD THE PHONE. If you read this earlier with no author notes, it's because I was posting in the middle of a work break and I was worried about my brother's dog. Atlas ate an entire sample package of laundry detergent and has been throwing up all day. I've now posted the beta'ed version. _**

**_All This Time _****was recently plagiarized on Wattpad, and therefore I am very paranoid about that happening to my other fanfiction. This story is expressly forbidden from being posted anywhere other than FFN I have files saved with the names of the original characters and this is a story I plan on publishing it when I am finished. You may add links to other websites and tell people to come read it, but do not in _any _circumstances take this story and post it somewhere else. It also is not allowed to be translated.**

Thanks for such a quick beta, Kate! I'm tempted to knit you a hat, you're so awesome :P

Chapter Ten

Elena's heart dropped into her stomach when she got the panicked call from her father.

She kept telling herself it was a fluke. There was no way in hell Anna would ever do drugs, let alone do something so irresponsible that she would overdose, but as Elena sat in the waiting room of the ER with Damon, Stefan, and everyone else, she realized it was a very real possibility.

"You had her breathing though, right?" Marie Salvatore asked as she paced.

"No, Mom," Stefan said.

"But you did CPR?"

That was nearly twenty minutes ago and they hadn't heard a word from the doctor. Damon sat with Amy in his lap across from Elena. They kept looking at each other, unable to really find anything to talk about in this situation. Caroline sat next to Liz and Bill, and Katherine sat curled up in Elijah's lap. Stefan and Marie sat next to each other, Stefan holding her hand as she sat stiffly in the hospital chair while they waited for the news.

"Salvatore?"

Damon stood up with a fussy, tired Amy as soon as he heard the doctor's voice. Elena reached for the child without question. Stefan helped Marie stand.

"I'm sorry..." The doctor said.

Elena stood quickly with Amy in her arms. "What do you say to getting some candy?" she asked the little girl.

"Mommy is hurt. What are the doctors saying?" Amy asked as she clung to Elena's neck. Even though Elena had only met her once briefly, Amy had taken an immediate liking to her when they explained that she was Katherine's sister.

"I don't know, sweetie, but it's probably better we let them talk to her doctor," Elena said, shooting Damon a look. She bit back the sudden tears which sprang to her eyes when she saw the look on his face-one that wasn't good. "Does your mommy let you have soda?"

"Mommy says she hates soda," Amy said as Elena made a quick beeline out of the ER in search of vending machines. "I'm a big girl. Let me walk!"

"Oh—I'm sorry," Elena said with an uneasy chuckle as Amy squirmed in her arms until she set her on the ground. "I'll just have to get you water instead of soda."

"Mommy hates soda, but Uncle Stefan always gives me Pepsi," Amy corrected.

Keep it together, Elena told herself. She had to keep it together for this sweet girl who didn't know what was going on with her mother yet. She'd heard the cop who initially came and questioned Damon and Stefan about what happened when they found her. She couldn't imagine what that must have been like for Damon. Her heart ached for him, and she'd also been pretty sure that when the cop insinuated that Anna had been trying to commit suicide that Damon might have laid him out flat had Elijah and Stefan not been there to hold him back.

Damn it, Anna, Elena thought as she pulled a dollar from her purse to get something to eat from the vending machine once they found it, what had been so wrong that she had been driven to drinking and talking pills in the first place? Stefan thought it was Valium, but they just weren't sure. It could have been something else.

Elena would have never guessed in a million years that Anna would have used drugs like that. She had always been so happy, and bubbly, and ready to give her brothers hell when they were acting like idiots.

Elena took a deep breath as she tried to forget about what was going on back in that waiting area.

"Okay, so what do you want? Chips? Pop tarts? Crackers?"

Amy stared at the vending machine, a mixture of wonder and confusion as she tried to figure out what she wanted.

"What kind of pop tarts do they have?" She asked.

"Strawberry," Elena said.

"The kind with the white frosting and sprinkles?" Amy asked as she tried to peer into the vending machine. They were on a rack that was a little too far up for Amy to see.

"Looks like those are the ones."

"Yeah, I want those."

"They're yours, then," Elena said. She dug out an additional fifty cents so she could get the pop tarts.

"I'm sorry..." Doctor Meredith Fell said. Damon felt like his stomach was going to bottom out as soon as he heard the words. "Anna didn't make it."

"How?" Stefan gasped, a sob ripping through his voice as he spoke. "I mean, I did everything right. I mean, I called 911, I even did CPR."

"You did everything that you could for her..." Meredith said, "but she was gone before you got to her."

Meredith and Stefan started talking about more medical shit Damon just couldn't understand. He only understood that his sister had overdosed, he and Stefan no longer had their sister, and that her little girl didn't have a mother anymore.

Marie broke down into loud sobs and Damon could only think of how much more he loved Elena for thinking to get Amy away from them when they got the news.

—

"Mom, maybe you should take it easy."

Damon hated this. He hated that his sister was dead and now their mother was in a baking frenzy a few days later, unable to do anything else but just that. Anna's funeral was in a few hours and then there would be a small get together for family and friends later at The Mae Flower. Bill had closed it down for the day just for that. Marie had been baking so much his kitchen looked like a flour pit.

"Mammaw can bake as much as she wants," Amy said from the kitchen table. She had a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of her.

Damon sat next to his niece. "How are you holding up, sweetie?"

Amy shrugged as she picked a chocolate chip from one of her cookies. "I don't know."

Damon sighed and pulled her into his lap. "Are you going to be okay with Angie?"

Angie was Amy's sixteen year old babysitter.

Amy nodded excitedly, her mood shifting instantly. "Angie is fun. She'll play with my Barbies."

Damon was pissed off no one wanted him to bring Amy to Anna's funeral, but his mother had insisted on it because she had been the one to make the funeral arrangements and there was going to be an open casket. Amy understood very well that her mother was gone but she seemed to be in a heavy case of denial.

All three of them jumped when the doorbell rang.

"That must be Stefan," Marie said.

"Stefan would just walk in," he frowned, trying to decide who would be there when everyone else they knew understood where the burial and wake would be, "okay, back into your seat you go," he said to Amy.

Marie wiped down her hands and made a sitting motion with them as she walked toward the living room. "It's okay, I don't mind to get the door. You sit with Amy."

"No, Mom, I've got it—"

"Nonsense—"

They argued like this the whole way to the front door together until Damon rushed his way in front of Marie and opened the door.

"Giuseppe?"

"Dad? What the hell are you doing here?"

Damon hadn't seen his father in nearly ten years. When he and his mother had been going through a divorce, it had all been done through lawyers and telephone calls and Marie crying on the phone to beg him to come home to his family. He quickly turned to look at his mother who looked as white as a ghost, who merely stared at his father.

Giuseppe looked ragged, but he was dressed in a suit. Damon hated his father in his damn suits. It was one of the reasons he owned a car shop, so he didn't have to worry about dressing nicely every day. He considered himself well-kept, and he did dress nicely when occasion called for it, but he would have just rather had his arms elbow-deep in grease.

"I heard about Anna…" he sounded broken. Damon's gaze shot to Marie's just before she sobbed and pulled Giuseppe into the house.

"I'm shocked you could find time out of your busy schedule to make it here," Damon commented bitterly as Giuseppe wrapped his arms around Marie. He shut the front door and saw Amy standing near the kitchen archway.

"Why are all the grownups crying all the time?"

Amy seemed like she knew what happened to her mother, but now he was starting to wonder if she just wanted to block all of it out, Damon thought to himself as he walked over to her. Amy reached up with her arms as he picked her up.

"You know how your mommy had that bad accident? And we're all really sad?"

"I just don't know why she isn't here," Amy sighed in frustration.

Yep. Total denial.

"Oh, god… is that Amy?" Giuseppe asked. "She looks just like Anna."

"Who are you?" she asked Giuseppe. Unable to help himself, Damon kissed the top of his niece's head. She had the same snobby tone Anna held whenever she was angry or unsure about someone.

"I'm your grandfather," Giuseppe said.

"Mommy told me my papaw was a loser—"

"Okay kiddo," Damon said, fighting back the urge to laugh despite such a somber situation, "you've had too much sugar, and you need to get ready to see Angie." He walked over to the steps and deposited her there. "Can you be a good girl for me and get your things together?"

"Okay, Uncle Damon," Amy said with one last hesitant look at her grandfather before she ran upstairs.

"She's got Anna's sass…" Giuseppe said.

Marie stepped away from him with a glare as she wiped her face. "And how would you know that when you haven't seen one of your children for the past ten years?"

"How the hell did you even find out what happened to her?" Damon asked.

"Stefan and I have been talking again for the past year," Giuseppe said. "I'm helping him pay for his student loans. I'm very proud of him for being so career driven."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't haul your ass out of my house," Damon said.

"Anna just—"

"And the first thing you do is walk into my home and insinuate your dead daughter wasn't good enough for you to keep in touch with her. Really fucking nice."

"Damon," Marie choked, "don't."

"God, son," Giuseppe said. "Is that really what you think of me?" His voice cracked with emotion and Damon couldn't tell if he was faking or serious. It was as if he couldn't see any other part of this man except the one who abandoned his wife and children.

"I'm getting ready for my sister's funeral. Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

—

_Damon wrapped his arms around a teary fourteen year old Elena as they sat in her bedroom. _

_"I'm sorry your guinea pig died," he said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulder, "but you have to admit you were getting too old to have one." _

_"You're a jerk," she said angrily as she tried to pull away from him. "I had Pumpkin for five years. Just because your dad left your mom doesn't give you free reign to be mean about my pet." _

_"No, come on," Damon said as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Don't pull away. Joked too soon, I guess." _

_"You shouldn't joke about it at all," Elena said. "I don't make mean jokes about your parents like the kids at school."_

_"That's a totally different thing," Damon said. "Did you bury him?" _

_Elena wiped her eyes against his shirt and he didn't mind a bit when she did. "Yeah. It sucked." _

_"I'll get you a new guinea pig," he said. "I've been working on my uncle's truck and I think he's going to pay me for it if I figure out what's wrong with it." _

_Elena shook her head. "I can't replace my pet." _

_She'd loved that goddamn guinea pig, Damon thought to himself. It sucked that it died, but he didn't know what else to say to her as kept his arms around her. _

_"Well, I can't let you be sad all day," he told her. "Do you want to go for a ride?" _

_"Where will we go?" she asked._

_"I'm not sure, but I don't think either one of us needs to be home right now. You're crying because your guinea pig died, and mom is… I just don't feel like being there right now." _

_Elena sat up and looked at him. Sometimes it never even occurred to Damon that she was almost four years younger with the way she was able to hone in with what was wrong with him without really having to speak with him about it. She took one of his hands and ran her thumb across his knuckles. _

_"You can tell me about it, you know…" Elena said. "What did your dad do? Why did he leave? How is your mom handling it?" _

_"I don't want to talk about that right now," Damon said. "Think Kat will want to go joy riding with us?" _

_"You always try so hard to shut your emotions out," Elena said. She wasn't crying anymore. "It's okay to feel sad about what your father has done." _

_"I can't do that," Damon said. "My family needs me. Anna cries enough for me and Stefan anyway." _

_"You're such a guy, it's okay to be upset about these sorts of things. I'm talking to you about Pumpkin…" _

_"It's not something I want to discuss, all right?" _

_Elena drew back from him even further with an angry glare. "Fine, keep being a big jerk," she said, climbing off the bed. "No, I don't want to go riding around with you right now. You shouldn't even be in my room. If Dad finds you in here he might burst a blood vessel." _

_"I don't want to talk about it because my father is an overworked alcoholic who decided to leave his family for a better job," Damon spat out. "There, happy?" _

_"Well at least that's _something_ other than being all vague about what happened with your mom and dad," Elena said with a glare. _

_"I don't think it's something you can understand. Your parents are happy together." _

_"My mother spends most of her time gallivanting across the country with her traveling actor group and she's barely here at all," Elena hissed out. "I haven't seen her in two years. I'm lucky if I even get a phone call or a letter. So, yeah, Damon, I think it's something I understand." _

_"Yeah, well at least the two of them are still married." _

_"Did I also mention the fact that my dad has a girlfriend but he tries to hide it from me and Katherine and Jeremy and fails miserably? I _know_, Damon." _

_"Elena, honey?" _

_Damon watched her as she froze where she stood when she heard her father's voice. He had a rule about keeping her door closed when Damon was there. It was a rule the both of them thought was stupid. Elena was his best friend, but he'd never let himself go there with her. _

_"Yeah Daddy?" _

_"Are you okay in there?" _

_She walked over to her door and slowly opened it. "Yeah… um, don't get mad, I had to close the door so Damon and I could talk."_

_— _

Elena hated funerals.

She cried, held Anna's hand one last time, and barely choked out a goodbye when they threw the first bit of dirt onto her casket.

Now, at the wake in The Mae Flower, she watched as a thick tension tightened its grip on the Salvatore family. She was surprised just like everyone else that Giuseppe even heard about Anna's death. Currently, she held onto Katherine and Jeremy's hands tightly. As much as she wanted to hug Damon, she didn't want to leave her brother or sister's sides just yet.

"I'm glad you and Bonnie made it," Katherine said to Jeremy.

"I can't believe this happened to her," Jeremy admitted. He squeezed Elena's hand. "Maybe you should be over there for Damon?"

Elena shook her head. "Damon, Giuseppe, and Stefan look like they want to bite each other's heads off. I'm not ready to go over there yet."

Bonnie sat with the baby on her lap on the stage, where Jeremy, Katherine, and Elena were standing. "I feel awful that we were at Myrtle Beach. I feel like I should have been here."

"We can always dwell on the what-ifs and should-haves," Katherine said. "I wish I would have known what was going on with Anna. We should have forced her with us on that trip to New York… but I didn't ask her, and we didn't take her."

For a brief second, Elena let go of Jeremy's hand to reach for Katherine. She pulled her into a hug as Katherine sniffled.

Elena felt the exact same way; she just didn't want to say it out loud. If she said anything about how she felt, about what they should have or could have done for Anna, then she would feel even worse. She'd been so caught up with her crap with what happened after her divorce with Matt and then drama with Damon that she didn't stop to think there might have been something seriously wrong with Anna and that she needed help. She didn't think Anna needed help because she had Damon, but it turned out everyone was wrong.

That was when Damon caught her gaze across the bar. He sat between his brother and father, Marie bustling behind the bar where she helped serve alcohol and shoved frosted cookies at anyone who showed interest. Bill hadn't even made an effort to control how much everyone was drinking. Considering what had happened, the most Elena had seen anyone go for was a second beer.

Damon looked tired, and like he needed her, and when he stood and walked a few seats down at the bar, she realized he wanted her to come to him.

"Would you mind if…?" she asked her brother and sister, her gaze not leaving Damon's.

"Go ahead," Jeremy said.

"I almost think he needs you more than us," Katherine added.

Elena wrapped her arms around Damon's waist as soon as she reached him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make my way over here sooner," she said.

Damon simply sighed and hugged her back, burying his head into the crook of her neck, pulling her closer, her hips nestled between his legs.

"Want anything?" Marie asked, pointing to the loads of cookies, cakes, breads, pies, and other baked goods scattered across the bar.

"Maybe," Elena said, a little tempted by one of the chocolate chip cookies piled high on a plate. "How are you holding up?" Elena whispered against Damon's hair.

"You still bake when you're hurting, don't you?"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard Giuseppe talking to Marie, but she felt more focused on Damon.

"I want to get out of here," Damon said. "Get home to Amy." He reached around his waist to take one of her hands in his. "You can even come spend the night if you want to."

Sorely tempted to take him up on that offer, Elena nearly answered him before Giuseppe placed a beer glass on the bar loudly.

"Actually," Giuseppe said, "who is going to take care of Amy now?"

Damon looked up from where he had his head buried into Elena's neck.

"I am," he deadpanned. "I've been taking care of her the whole week."

"Are you sure it's really a good place to raise her where her mother _killed_ herself?" Giuseppe spat bitterly.

"Anna didn't kill herself!" Elena gasped in shock, mortified that Anna's own father could think it.

Her death had already been declared accidental. It wasn't the drugs and alcohol that killed her. She'd been so drunk that she fell down face first into a pillow on the couch and had suffocated. It felt surreal, and like it shouldn't have happened—it _wouldn't _have happened had she been sober—but it was what it was.

"Giuseppe, you've had too much to drink," Marie said. "Let's not do this."

Well, Elena had been wrong then. Giuseppe had gladly taken advantage of Bill's open bar. She bit back the initial urge to call him an insensitive ass wipe.

"No, _let's _do this," Damon said.

"Your mom is right, Damon." Elena tried.

"It's good to see some things haven't changed," Giuseppe said. "Are you and Elena still hopelessly in love, avoiding each other? You should stay away from this family, Elena. We're fucked up."

"Dad," Damon said, jumping to his feet. He gently nudged Elena out of the way and she complied immediately when she saw the worried look on Marie and Caroline's faces. "I don't know what else you want to say to anyone," Elena looked around nervously as Damon spoke to his father, and realized nearly everyone was watching as Damon rose his voice, "but you better think about what you're saying because I will not have my sister's wake ruined because you're an insensitive asshole who suddenly decided to show up out of the blue ten years later making demands on what we should or shouldn't do with Anna's daughter."

"I think I need to get her the hell out of Virginia, is what I think I need to do. You know, I saw Anna while she was off gallivanting in Canada. She made a few trips to New York to see Caroline over there," Giuseppe said. "I was shocked when I saw Caroline give her drugs for the first time on a day we were supposed to have a father/daughter lunch date."

Marie and Bill gasped when they looked at Caroline, who immediately flushed red and busied herself behind the bar wiping down some dishes.

"Did you know T.J. has been threatening to come down here and take Amy? There is no way in hell I'm letting that scum bag touch my granddaughter," Giuseppe said.

"How do you even know any of this?" Marie asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "Anna reached out to me too. She needed her father. I guess you and Damon didn't know her as well as you thought you did. In _fact," _he said, pointing to Caroline, "she's the whole reason the two of them ever met in the first place."

"Caroline, what the hell is my father talking about—"

"Giuseppe," Bill said, "I think you need to leave—"

"So I—"

"That's enough!" Alaric barked from atop a pool table where he was having a beer with Elijah. He stood up and walked over to the bar as he glared at everyone. It made Elena want to duck behind Damon, and so she did. Everything probably would have gotten a lot more out of hand had Alaric not interjected himself.

"Mr. Salvatore," Alaric said, "with all due respect, I'm very sorry you lost your daughter, but you need to get the hell out of here. I have personally seen Anna's will and she named Damon Amy's legal guardian."

"You better leave," Damon said.

"Leave?" Giuseppe asked with a bitter chuckle. "What are you going to do if I don't get out of here, boy?"

Giuseppe was quickly hauled out of The Mae Flower five minutes later by Grayson, Bill, Elijah, and Damon. Caroline slammed the door shut with a loud bang and locked it after Bill came in, the last of the four men to come back inside.

"Caroline, I can't believe you ever—"

"I was a different person a few years ago, Damon," she said. "I think everyone's emotions are too high right now. I'll tell you what happened some time but right now I just want to grieve for the loss of one of my best friends."

—

This had to happen. It was always my intention for Anna to die. A lot of people (including the little birdie up in Canada who has pushed and pushed for this story to be what it is right now) are going to hate it, but Anna had issues which are going to be explored/have impact on everyone, especially if I write a second part where Caroline's character (Mae is her name actual version) gets her shot at a romance story.

My bunnies send their love and cuddles if it upset you.

**Just a head's up: **

October and November very busy months for me. This year I'm participating in the "I Will Remember You" ficathon, and I'll be writing a short story entry and posting that online after all of that is finished (I'll also be outlining another story, but you'll see what I mean by that in a second under the NaNo stuff). The IWRY ficathon is a Buffy/Angel type challenge where a lot of writers get together and write some B/A fanfiction. It's the first year I'm participating in it, and I'm excited about it. I know Taaroko and another one of our friends do it every year. In November National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is happening, and that is when I will be only writing the _All This Time_ sequel. I'm hoping the muse cooperates in time for me to actually get most of CG and HOH written before I start NaNo or the IWRY stories… but sometimes the muse has other ideas, so we'll see. Please don't get mad at me if updates dwindle the next two months.

Anyway, be sure to review! I updated HOH today too.


	12. Chapter Eleven

I decided to edit this one solo, and it still feels very rough, but this whole entire thing I'm posting is the rough draft :P I'm on a little bit of a writing roll, so I'm either going to go straight into working on chapter twelve or try to finish the next HOH chapter…I should really work on that IWRY ficathon B/A oneshot due the 21st too.

Anyway, enjoy! Lemme know if you saw any errors I missed.

Thanks to the little birdie in Canada who originally inspired the scene at the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

The next week passed in a blur for Damon. He threw himself into work and taking care of Amy when his mother didn't have her, which was whenever he was working and it was quite often. Because he felt restless, he was in the shop working on an easier job, a '93 Pontiac Firebird. It needed a few fuses switched for its turn signal, an oil change, new spark plugs and a general tune up. The work was easy enough he didn't need Elijah or Alaric at the shop with him. Damon preferred it this way. It was early—six in the morning—and the only person with him was Amy. She was asleep in the office in a chair and he'd brought her with him because he didn't want to wake his mother up.

"Son?"

The hair on the back of his neck stood when he heard his father's voice. He hadn't spoken to his mother or Caroline since the funeral wake. Marie had actually tried defending Giuseppe later that night and Damon hadn't been willing to listen to it. That was what his mother did—she would defend his father until she was blue in the face no matter how he had treated her while they were married or now that they were divorced. He supposed he couldn't blame her because they _had _lost their daughter, but Damon just needed to take a step back and stay the hell away from his dad despite the fact he relied on his mother to help him with Amy.

That's hard, he thought, when your estranged father comes looking for you.

"What?" he asked, not bothering to look at Giuseppe, pulling out an old spark plug from the Firebird.

"I know you're pissed off at me," he said.

"I'm working."

Maybe if he used short answers and talked to his father like he did with Amy when she got in trouble, it would make his father go away. Damon wondered why the hell he was still in Virginia anyway. When he wanted his father there, he disappeared. When he didn't want him there, he hovered like a motherfucking moth.

"Listen, son, I know I've screwed up in the past," Giuseppe said. "Would you just stop working for five minutes so I can talk with you?"

Growling to himself, Damon pulled out another spark plug and tossed it to the floor as he turned around to look at his father. He was dressed in another pitch black, well-tailored suite and held a thick manila folder in his arms.

"Why should I have a conversation with you when you acted the way you did at Anna's wake?" he spat out, fighting the overwhelming urge to punch the man. "If you're here with that official business look to intimidate me into letting you have custody of Amy, there is no way in hell I'm letting you do it."

Giuseppe actually had the sense to look offended. "I was hurting, son, I'd never uproot my granddaughter like that," he said. "I have a few ties here in Virginia still… one of the reasons I came back is to enter a business partnership with you." Giuseppe handed folder out for Damon to take it. "Believe it or not, I am extremely proud of you for what you've done for yourself."

Damon grunted and turned back to the car.

"Bill and Grayson might have also kicked my ass." For the first time since his father came into the shop, Damon noticed the faint bruise on his father's cheek when he looked at him again. Giuseppe continued to speak and Damon opened the folder wordlessly. "You'll find information in there about the logging company I own," Giuseppe continued, "I started the logging company when I was twenty-five and your mother had friends who needed some trees removed from their property. It's yours."

"I don't need a hand out," Damon scoffed as he tried to shove the file back into his father's arms.

"This isn't a handout, son," Giuseppe said. "I would have let Anna have this file but…" his voice hitched with emotion as he pushed the file back toward Damon. "She can't now," he cleared his throat. "Stefan is working on becoming a doctor. That leaves it to you."

"These files area a mess," Damon finally said as he leafed through some pages. "Why do you want me to do this?"

"Honestly, Damon? I don't care," Giuseppe said with a sigh. The more Damon studied his father, the more he noticed how worn down and _old _he was starting to look. "Sell the company, step up as CEO, or hire someone to do it. I'm retiring early, and I don't need ties to this state anymore."

"You don't need ties to your dead daughter, you mean," Damon snapped.

"God, no, Damon… would you listen to yourself?"

Damon glared at him for a moment, but then realized he was probably acting unreasonable. He told himself he had to push back the anger he felt at his father for five minutes as he looked at a few of the records for "Salvatore Logging".

"I didn't know this actually did so well," Damon said.

"If you stepped up as CEO you really wouldn't have to do much," Giuseppe said. "Go to a few meetings with clients, whom you can mostly conference with over the phone. Sometimes it's good to meet with them in person but for the past ten years I've managed to do without. CEO is mainly just the title. There are others I've hired who have been with me for years who could manage it without me."

"Why do you want to give this to me, other than the fact that you are retiring?" Damon asked. "I'm a mechanic."

"You own your own business, son. It's because you have an eye for it that I want you to have it," Giuseppe said. "Besides… it'll help you save money to put that little girl in your office through college. Bill and Grayson didn't just rough me up; they told me how much Amy has relied on you these past few days since she's lost her mother. She's got a life here, with you, Stefan, and Marie. I can't take her, and now that Anna is gone she needs you now more than ever. I wish I could be a part of your life more, but I know I've done more damage than good. I hope you see this as a way to take care of her."

"I'm more than capable of—"

"I know that, son," Giuseppe said. Damon resisted the urge to tell him he didn't have the right to call him that anymore as he had been the whole time. "Just at least think about it. I have an official meeting planned in two weeks and I don't want to say I expect you to be there, but I hope you will be. After that I'm going back home."

Back home—just that much more proof his father really just only saw this all as a business transaction. Clenching his jaw, Damon nodded wordlessly. He'd go to the damn meeting and see if he wanted to become CEO of his father's logging company. It was a good business opportunity and Damon would be lying to himself if this probably hadn't been Giuseppe's plan from the beginning when he was still a child. When he looked into the office, he saw Amy sleepily rub her hand against her nose and cuddle up tighter in the office chair her mother had used, and decided it was something he probably shouldn't pass up.

* * *

Elena rolled her eyes at her brother as she poured some Guinness from the tap for him.

"I'm not moving in with you and Bonnie," she said as she slid the glass across the bar to him. He'd been hounding her to pack her things up and move in with him for the past three weeks after Anna's funeral. Elena was almost at the point where she just wanted to throw her hands up, huff, and say "fine!" but she hadn't done it yet and she didn't plan to. "I'm trying to do this thing where I stay on my own two feet for once."

"I completely respect that," Jeremy said. "But I don't think you should waste the money staying at The Mae Flower."

Bill bristled beside Elena. "Jeremy, I love you boy, but—"

Jeremy laughed. "Hey, I appreciate what you've done for my sister, I do, Bill, but I feel like after everything that's happened lately you should be at home with family."

"Bill, Caroline, and Liz _are _family, Jer," Elena protested. "Besides, who's to say I won't move in with Caroline?"

"Elena, you're being ridiculous if you think I'm going to let you stay here. Wouldn't you like to actually save some money so you can apply to more graduate schools?"

Elena sighed as she hesitantly looked at Bill. She wished Caroline or Katherine were there. Neither one of them would let Jeremy keep hounding her to move in with him despite the fact that his intentions were meant for her benefit. He had to go and hit below the belt and mention the fact that she wasn't in a graduate school right now trying to get her master's degree so she could practice family therapy.

"I don't want to move in, you and Bonnie have Rylan and I don't want to ruin the new routine you've gotten him into," Elena said with a wave of her hand as another customer flagged her down and asked for an LIIT, not willing to listen to any protests Jeremy had.

She needed a small breather from her brother for a moment. The Mae Flower was fairly busy too that night even though it was a Wednesday. Bill loved his karaoke nights though, and so she winced when a drunk belted out the lyrics to a Nickleback song… something about riding in a car with a girl and Elena just thought "Ugh!" as she tuned out the lyrics. She didn't play the guitar much anymore, but Damon had gotten her attached to classic rock when they were still teenagers and she'd sung a few Johnny Cash/June Carter duets with Matt for fun like "Jackson" while the band fooled around during practices.

Elena shook her head as she made the LIIT. She didn't need to think about Matt. Things with Damon weren't heading in a romantic direction, but things were no longer as hostile between them as they had been when she first moved home. She'd seen him a few times after the funeral and even spent an evening watching mindless television with him on his couch but nothing had happened. It felt good to start feeling close with him again, which is why she didn't need to think about Matt Donovan.

She was no longer even friends with her ex-husband, or at least that's what Elena kept trying to tell herself when he and April walked into the bar.

She immediately felt the muscles in her back knit tightly together. She wouldn't run at the sight of them. She was working and there was no reason to act so unprofessional—even if she merely was just bartending. Where were Caroline and Katherine when she needed them? Or even Anna?

Elena immediately wished she didn't feel like she needed Anna, but she did, and she willed tears not to spring up out of the corner of her eyes. It'd been damn hard with her not there, but Elena had been managing. What happened to Anna was too fresh and painful in their minds and so Damon and Elena didn't talk about it whenever they spent time together.

It was hard to hear what Matt was saying to Bill over the loud screeching of the karaoke performers from the other side of the bar—Elena purposely avoided the other side once Matt and April sat down at the bar—even though she wondered what they were talking about.

"Don't even think about it," Jeremy said.

"What?" Elena asked.

"You're going to torture yourself by wondering what they're saying and then I'm going to have to go kick his ass."

Elena rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous…but they do have some nerve coming in here after what happened with the band."

"It still doesn't make sense to me that you both moved out of the state when you got married, but somehow both ended up back in the same town after your divorce. Who does that?"

Elena glared at her brother as she leaned against the bar. "I should go over there and see why Bill and Matt suddenly look so chummy."

"If you do that then you're going to get sucked right back into Matt's bullshit," Jeremy said.

Elena rolled her eyes. "Katherine told you _everything, _didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did, and that's why I want you to move in with me and Bonnie. I won't make you pay rent there."

"And you'd have a convenient babysitter for Rylan," Elena pointed out with a smirk. "I'll think about it, okay?"

Jeremy _actually _fist pumped and said, "yes!"

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm glad that makes you so happy, Jer."

Jeremy shrugged. "I just feel bad because I wasn't there for you while you were going through a divorce, and the one thing that got me and Bonnie to get our asses home was…"

"Yeah. I know," Elena said quickly. "It's a big _maybe. _I wouldn't be able to fit most of my stuff in the house but I can't leave it all in the storage unit."

"We have a four bedroom house, I think we can fit most of your stuff, Elena," Jeremy said.

He continued to talk to her, but Elena found herself staring at April and Matt again as she wondered what the hell they were _still _talking about to Bill. Bill seemed to be taking what they said to him seriously and Elena strained to hear what they were saying, but she would have to get closer to actually know what the conversation was about.

"Elena?" Jeremy slammed his hand down on the bar and she jumped; shocked back out of her little obsessed trance. "Come on—don't tell me you're thinking about going over there?"

Elena shook her head at herself because that's _exactly _what she had been doing. "No," she said quickly, clearing her throat. "I wasn't."

The sudden buzzing in her back pocket made her jump and Elena fumbled to get her phone as it continued to ring. Wondering why Damon would be calling her when he knew she was working befuddled her, and so she slid her thumb across the screen.

"Elena… it's a mess."

"What?" Elena yelled into the phone, suddenly wishing she'd had the sense not to answer it while someone was singing a decent version of a Taylor Swift song.

"Amy…complete… fucking mess."

She could hardly make out what he was saying and so she sighed in frustration as she glanced at Bill, Matt, and April again.

This was ridiculous. She was an adult and she lived in the same town as her ex-husband. They were bound to cross paths with each other on occasion, and they had been friends once despite the fact that he'd cheated on her. He obviously liked coming to the bar she worked at, too, so she had to be a professional about this (as professional as she could be as a bar tender) and get over herself and walk to the other damn side of that bar and tell Bill she needed a break to see what Damon needed.

"It's Damon," Elena said to Jeremy. "Could you tell Bill I had to take a step outside?"

Not waiting for Jeremy to respond, she quickly ducked back into the kitchen. Elena waved to Liz as she walked toward the back door.

"I'm sorry, it's karaoke tonight," Elena said. "I had trouble hearing you."

"I hate doing this," Damon said, "but I need you here…bad. I don't know who else to ask. Katherine and Elijah are on a date and Mom went to go see her sister for the week."

"What's wrong?" Elena asked in alarm when she noticed the way his voice choked up.

"It's just…Amy… I_ burned _something."

"What on earth did you burn?" Elena said, trying not to shriek into the phone. "Is Amy okay?"

"It wasn't anything big…just burned dinner… but I need you here right now." Damon's voice actually hitched a little bit. "Amy is being a _monster_."

He burned dinner because Amy was acting a little fussy? Elena relaxed against the door for a moment once she realized it wasn't anything completely dangerous and that Damon and his niece were okay. "Let me see if I can get off work. Bill is a little shorthanded tonight."

"Okay," Damon sighed. "Hurry, tell Bill I'm sorry."

She wasn't going to ask a billion questions. "Just give me a bit and I'll be there as soon as possible."

Elena ended the call and headed back into the bar. She almost walked right through the kitchen past Liz, but then realized she didn't want to have to even look at Matt or April if she spoke to Bill about leaving for the night. Raking one hand through her hair as she shoved her phone in her pocket with the other, Elena spun around where Liz was making some fried pickles.

"I need to go," Elena said. "Damon is having some sort of emergency."

"Oh no," Liz said. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know, he said he burned dinner, but something else sounded wrong. I'm a little worried about him." Elena bounced on the balls of her feet. "How much do you think Bill will kill me if I take off for the rest of the night?"

"He'll understand that Damon needed you, sweetie. I'll call Caroline or go help with the bar myself. It's about time I close up the kitchen anyway."

Elena sighed in relief and pulled Liz into a hug. "Thank you."

* * *

Considering the fact Damon told her he burned dinner, Elena stopped by the grocery store and picked up some whole wheat spaghetti and pasta sauce and a few other things. She wondered what on earth he meant when he said Amy was being a monster. She'd been a little fussy the past few weeks but Elena knew Marie had her most of the time when Damon was working. Damon never used the word to describe his niece before, Elena thought, as she tentatively knocked on his front door.

The door opened by itself and Elena gaped as she walked inside.

Damon's living room was a _mess_. Amy's Barbie dolls were strewn all over the living room, a coloring book sat on the couch with ripped pages and broken crayons, and it looked like peanut butter was smeared across Damon's flat screen television. Amy must have had a little party for herself.

"Close the door! You'll let the puppy out!"

Elena's eyebrows knitted together in frown as she reached back with her foot and slammed the door shut. A puppy? Said puppy came rushing into the living room, all wiggles and sloppy kisses to her leg seconds later.

"Oh, okay, hi dog," Elena said as she tried to walk around toys without tripping on her way to the kitchen. The puppy followed hot on her trails. "Damon, what _happened?_" she asked as she put the grocery bags on kitchen table where Amy sat with her hands buried in a box of crackers.

"You having fun, kiddo?" Elena asked when the urge to start giggling came at her full force. Someone had gotten into her mommy's make up while she was destructing the house, too. She wore bright red lipstick that was smeared all over her lips, dark purple eye shadow, and what looked like eye liner was drawn all over her face.

"Yeah! Uncle Damon got me a boxer!" Amy squealed as she tossed the box of crackers onto the table and jumped off. She plopped down onto the floor and pulled the red and white dog into her arms.

"Don't squeeze her," said Damon's tired, muffled voice.

Elena turned to look at him. He leaned against his kitchen counter with his face buried in his hands and a bit of his hair was standing up with some peanut butter sticking out of it. Elena slowly walked to him and reached for his hands.

"Damon," she said, trying not to laugh, "how did you let this get so out of control?" she had to bite her lip once she realized there were marker drawings on the wall next to the refrigerator wall.

He muttered something indecipherable through his hands and that was when Elena noticed the burned pot of what looked like macaroni and cheese and a pile of dishes high in the sink.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Elena asked. She wondered what he'd been up to earlier that day. He had on a really nice blue dress shirt which now had green and black marker lines all up and down the arms.

Damon muttered something again and Elena rolled her eyes as she tried to drag his hands away from his face.

Unable to help herself, she finally laughed a little. "Damon, _come on_. I can't help you if you keep making it hard for me to understand what you're trying to say to me."

"All right, fine," Damon said as he finally pulled his hands away from his face. Elena bit her lower lip hard as she tried not to immediately burst into laughter.

Amy had given his face the same make up treatment, only he had fuchsia colored lipstick smeared all over his face and more marker lines scribbled on his forehead down to his neck. A dark grey eye shadow up to his eyebrows accented the whole make over. His shirt was missing a few buttons and Damon just looked _ragged _and so of course Elena couldn't help it when she burst into laughter.

"It's not funny, Elena," Damon protested. "It's _really _not funny."

Elena continued to laugh so hard her sides started to hurt.

"Well if you're just going to stand there and laugh at me then I don't know why the hell I called you," Damon hissed angrily as he turned around and grabbed the burned pot of macaroni.

"No, Damon," Elena said when finally gathered some of her wits. She placed her hand on his wrist and made him put the pot down. "I'm sorry," she giggled again and shook her head at him while he glared. "Really, I'm sorry. I'm just relieved it was nothing more serious."

"You really think my niece tearing up my house isn't serious?" Damon asked.

"Oh don't be offended," Elena shushed him when he tried to protest. "I've got this. You should, um," she couldn't help it as she laughed again, "go take a shower and clean up," she said as she reached for a paper towel and pulled a chunk of peanut butter from his hair.

"No one should be left at the mercy of that five year old," Damon said.

Elena turned to look at Amy who innocently looked up at her uncle as she held the wiggling puppy to her chest. "Was I bad?"

Damon opened his mouth to say something but Elena quickly shoved his shoulder. "Not a word, Damon. Go upstairs and get cleaned up. She's five."

"Yeah, but she never—"

"She's _five._ We'll talk about it after you're cleaned up, now _get." _Elena said as she pointed toward the general direction of the stairs through the living room with one of her hands on her hips.

Like _he _was the one who should be the scolded child, Damon actually pouted as he listened to her and walked toward the living room before he turned back around.

"I said get," Elena said but then she gasped when he pulled her into a hug.

"You're a fuckin' life saver," he mumbled into her hair.

Despite his grime, Elena hugged him back. "I know. Now _go _wash yourself up."

* * *

Okay, so I've had this chapter in my head for _ages _and it feels good to get part of it out. I'm not completely finished with this part yet but I didn't want the chapter to end up being 10,000 words (I have a 4,000 word limit for each chapter I've set for myself for this particular story). The last scene with Damon, Amy, Elena and the puppy was a scene my friend Marcie and I cracked up over on the phone about months ago and might have been a bit inspired from her own kids (I really need to make that trip up to Canada and meet your demons, girly). Bonnie and Jeremy's son, Rylan, is named after another one of my friend's kids.

But anyway, I'm sorry if the last two chapters made you guys a little sad. I figured some comic relief might help a little. Everything with Matt and April in the bar will come up in the next chapters too. Can you believe this story is just shy of 50,000 words now in its main document? I'm extremely proud of it, haha.

Thank you, everyone, for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting. It means the world to me. If you want to follow me on twitter and tell me to stop screwing around on Facebook whenever I post that someone needs to tell me to write, my name on there is anglcdmn1986. You can also see pictures of my bunnies, and the random moments when I yell "DON'T BLINK!", slam the basement door, and scare the hell out of my brother when he's watching Doctor Who with his girlfriend (I'm still giggling hard about that three days later).

I have some exciting news… All This Time was published on Kindle Worlds (only 4 bucks). I was shocked and cried when I got the email about it. If you want to get a copy of it, look up the title under my real name, "Mara A. Miller."

Anyway! Be sure to leave me a review. :) I especially love it when you guys have ideas of what should happen. It helps when I'm blocky and even though everything you think might happen in the story doesn't, I still take everything into consideration.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Hey guys! I finished this chapter earlier today and I figured I'd update it. I might work on CG a little more since ATT is finished and I'm actually gonna start the companion piece, _The Mae Flower, _in November for NaNoWriMo. I won't be posting that story as fan fiction though. Mae's character (Caroline) is a LOT wilder/different than the character portrayed in this story. I haven't decided how muted I'm going to leave it once I edit it and get it ready to self-publish on Amazon, but it will change a little.

Thanks a ton, Kate, for pre-reading.

So, I have mentioned some of this story is based on what happened with my ex-husband, right?

* * *

Chapter Twelve

"Amy?" Elena asked once she was sure Damon was upstairs. She already had the dishwasher opened and halfway loaded. "Could you do me a favor?"

"What?" Amy asked. She stood quickly, pushing the puppy from her lap.

"I need you to go pick up your toys for me in the living room," Elena said diplomatically. "Doesn't your Uncle Damon keep a toy tub downstairs for you?"

"He does," Amy said. "My dolls had a party with Belle."

"Belle?" Elena asked.

"The puppy! Belle is my favorite Disney princess."

"Okay, I see," Elena said. "Looks like you had loads of fun."

Amy nodded. "But I _was _bad…wasn't I?"

"Well," Elena tried her hardest not to laugh, "that depends." She said put a wet dish into the dishwasher. She knelt down to Amy's level and smoothed back some of her black hair. "Are you sorry you acted that way, or were you just having a lot of fun?"

"I think Uncle Damon looked pretty in mommy's make up," Amy said with an innocent shrug, her bright blue eyes wide. "I wasn't _trying_ being bad."

Elena tried very hard not to snort because Amy called Damon pretty. "If you have to ask me if you were being bad, don't you think you were?"

Amy shrugged again. "I don't know."

"Well, how about this," Elena said. "Go pick up your toys. We'll forget about this whole thing like it never happened."

Amy yawned. "Okay, I'm done playing. I'm kinda hungry."

Elena stood up and took her phone out to glance at the time. It was ten at night. Amy was up way past her bed time. "Do you still want macaroni?"

"Yeah! Uncle Damon burned mine though…"

Damon was very efficient in the kitchen. It was the sort of thing Elena always imagined coming hand in hand with being one of the Salvatores because they were Italian, and Damon had made her dinner a few times when they were still teenagers.

"How did that happen?" Elena asked.

Amy giggled. "He fell asleep, and then I made him sit still so I could make him pretty."

Elena bit her lip hard as she tried not to openly giggle at Amy. She knew exactly what happened tonight. Amy was testing Damon. Amy wasn't openly broadcasting how much she missed her mother, but she was showing other signs. Elena shooed her out of the kitchen so she could go clean up her toys and so Elena could attack those marker lines on the wall and start dinner.

—

"Something smells really good," Damon said as he walked into the kitchen forty minutes later.

It'd taken forever to get those damn marker lines scrubbed off his face. The minute Damon had gotten home with Amy, she'd torn into the house for her toy box and crayons and Damon had been too tired to tell her to take it easy. Then he'd surprised her with Belle, the puppy. Amy ran him all over the house, insisting he play with her and Belle and watch television. Damon was relieved to see her toys were put away.

"I made dinner," Elena said with a smile.

"Elena… you didn't have to do that."

"I figured I'd stay and eat with you since I didn't get my break at work," Elena shrugged as she placed some forks on the kitchen table.

A large candle sat in the middle of the table next to a roll of French bread and butter. Damon's eyes quickly darted from the wall where Amy had made her drawing. It was somehow gone, and he could hear the faint hum of the dish washer.

"How did you manage to make dinner and get the house this clean in forty minutes?" Damon asked in disbelief as he sat down.

"I'm _just _that awesome," Elena said as she brought a pot over to the table. Damon realized it was spaghetti as she spooned some of it onto the plate in front of him. "I also sent Amy to bed after she insisted on having macaroni."

Damon scrubbed his hand over his face tiredly. "I hate feeding her that crap but she won't eat anything else."

"It was getting really late or I would have let her stay up to eat with us," Elena said after she finished giving herself a plate of spaghetti. Damon picked up a fork, ready to dig in, when she reached over and slapped his hand. "Hold on, you want sauce don't you?"

Damon realized he was so tired he was about to eat plain spaghetti. "Oh, yeah, of course."

Elena smiled at him and shook her head as she spooned some warm sauce onto his plate. Big, fat meat balls rolled onto his plate and Damon's mouth watered a little as he realized how hungry he was.

"Are those the meat balls from my mom's recipe?"

"Yeah. She gave it to me a few years ago," Elena said with a shrug. "I had it memorized. If I had more time, I would have made this from scratch properly but we'll have to go with bread from a bakery and spaghetti from a box."

"I'm impressed," Damon said as Elena put the spaghetti sauce pan on the table and sat down next to him.

"Save that for after you've tried it," Elena said as she picked up her fork.

"This is amazing," Damon said after a few mouthfuls. He figured most of it was from the box, but the meat balls were better than Marie's. "How did you learn to cook like this? I think _you _were the one burning dinner the last time you tried cooking for me."

Elena laughed and shook her head. "I was seventeen, Damon. I didn't know a spaghetti strainer from a flour sifter."

"That's nonsense," Damon chuckled. "You took a lot of home economic classes and always had cookies the first semester of your senior year."

He felt like a little bit of a goof ball smiling at her as they ate dinner, but Damon couldn't help himself. He didn't expect her to take time off work to come help him in his crisis, and Damon realized he could have handled what happened so much better with Amy. He just felt so overwhelmed that day. Amy was usually a perfect kid and she'd acted so sad, he figured giving her Belle would make her day. It had, for about five minutes. The puppy in question lied down at his feet and looked up at him with innocent, wide brown eyes.

He should have gotten Amy a rabbit.

Rabbits wouldn't beg for spaghetti.

"I wonder why you got Amy a dog," Elena said. "You realize you can't rely on her to take care of her."

"Amy is five, I don't expect her to." Damon sighed as he reached down for the puppy and pulled her into his lap while she squirmed and licked his fingers. "One of my clients brought in a box of puppies today and said they were planning on taking them to the pound… I couldn't let her go."

"Aww," Elena cooed, reaching over to pat the puppy on the head and Belle dove out of the way and off Damon's lap. Elena's fingers brushed against his instead. "Oh, sorry," she said immediately, pulling her hand away.

"No, wait," Damon said, taking her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

"What are you doing?" Elena breathed, her arm going rigid.

"I can hold your hand, can't I?" Damon grinned, not having a real explanation why he didn't let her pull away. He reached for his fork to pick up another mouthful of spaghetti.

Elena didn't say anything, just bit her lower lip as she looked down and reached for a slice of bread. She didn't take remove her hand from his. By the way her cheeks tinted red and how she suddenly looked much more interested in her bread, he took it as an okay to keep her hand in his.

"So," Elena finally said, clearing her throat. "Why were you dressed so nice? Well—not that you usually don't dress nice, but—"

"Oh, you mean besides the marker lines?" Damon laughed. "Dad gave me his logging business, made me the CEO. I was in a meeting today."

"He did?" Elena asked in surprise.

"He did, he's retired, and I'm a CEO now," Damon said. "I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, Elena. Not with another company, or with Amy, or with little Belle over there. Dad says I don't have to do much with the logging company but what happens if it tanks or—"

Elena's hand tightened over his. "You'll be fine, Damon. I'm sure you can get your father to help you if you really don't think you're doing fine with the company, but you manage your own business as a mechanic well enough on your own."

"I really don't want to have much to do with that man at all," Damon said.

Elena smiled at him sadly. "I'm shocked he even had the balls to come around after the way he acted at Anna's wake."

Damon angrily stabbed a meat ball as he thought about the company his father had just dumped on him. Several times he thought about calling him and telling him no after they had a meeting that day. He met a few important people, like the CFO, a few of the loggers, and some managers. He took one look at one of the trucks used to haul the trees and realized he'd have to probably get someone to check all of them to make sure they were safe to drive. He wasn't sure how he was going to manage all of this and raising Amy on his own. Damon _was _by himself in this. He couldn't keep dropping Amy off on his Mom and Stefan was too busy school.

"I know that look, you're still worried," Elena said. "If you ever need help with Amy I'm here, all right?"

"Elena, I can't ask you to do that," Damon immediately protested. "I babysat her enough while…"

He told himself he was only getting choked up because a piece of meat ball went down the wrong way, not because he wanted to break down because he missed his sister.

The next thing Damon knew, Elena was in his lap, hugging him, and he was fighting back tears. Seriously? He thought he was done with that crying shit, but apparently not as he gasped and buried his head into the crook of Elena's neck. She must have pushed his plate back because he could hear dishes clink as he made himself breath slowly so he wouldn't start sobbing all over her pink t-shirt.

"Damon… It's okay if you need to cry…" Elena said as she wrapped his arms around his neck. She sounded like she was trying not to cry now. "I miss her too."

He was a man, damn it. Elena wanted to cry, she could cry. Damon managed to pull himself back together for a moment before he spoke.

"I'm just so fucking mad at Anna," he said, looking up at Elena when she pulled back. "I keep asking myself why she did that, why she wasn't more careful. I get that she was pissed at us but she had Amy to think about and…"

"Damon," Elena sighed as ran her fingers through the side of his hair. "You shouldn't blame your sister. What happened sucks so badly. You can run yourself in circles wondering what you could have done."

"I'm seriously in over my head, Elena," Damon said. "I have no idea what I'm doing." God damn, why did he still feel like crying? "I feel like I'll mess Amy up."

Elena smiled at him softly and he leaned into her touch just a little, enjoying the feeling of her fingers in his hair as he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down. "You're not going to mess her up," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Amy loves you so much."

"Why did she act like that today? She was… She's never acted that way before."

"It was her way of testing you. She felt bad after you went to take a shower, I could see it in her eyes… you have to be firm, but gentle with her. She just lost her mother and she might act out a little bit because I'm not sure she knows how to deal with it."

"She wakes up in the middle of the night crying for Anna," Damon said, burying his face back into Elena's neck. She smelled like peppermint and he took in a deep breath, reminding himself he needed to stay calm and not cry over her like a big pussy. "It breaks my heart every time. I've started letting her come into my bedroom at night because she says I chase the monsters away."

"That's the best you can do sometimes," Elena said.

"I'll take any help I can get," Damon said, his voice muffled by Elena's skin. "I don't know how Anna ever did this as a single mother."

"Oh, sweetheart," Elena said, "you don't have to raise her by yourself. You have me, and Katherine, and Jeremy and Bonnie and even Caroline… we all loved Anna, and we all love you and Amy just as much."

Damon looked up into her wide, doe brown eyes again, having only heard one thing she said clearly. "I have you, huh?"

Elena suddenly became fidgety in his lap, as if she realized where she was sitting and how they were holding each other. She tried to stand up but Damon's arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her firmly in place.

"Damon," she said nervously, with a slight warning in her voice.

"What?" he asked.

"I thought we were just friends."

In her small struggle, some of her hair worked itself loose from behind her ear and covered her eyes. She was so damn beautiful Damon didn't want to let her go, and he was starting to regret asking her to be just friends. Well, he didn't regret it—he'd rather be just friends rather than nothing at all.

"We are, but you didn't answer my question."

Elena rolled her eyes and pushed her hair out of her face. "Of course you have me, I'm not going anywhere."

"Good, Amy wants to be a cheerleader. I don't fuckin' know what kind of gear she needs… I mean what do cheerleaders need? Does she need a cup?"

Elena threw her head back and laughed loudly, her bottom wiggling against his crotch as she laughed her ass off. Damon quickly let her stand up so she wouldn't notice anything.

"Oh, honey," Elena said between bouts of giggling as she sat back down in her chair. "I can help with that."

Damon huffed. "You're laughing at me a lot tonight."

"I can't help it! You're just so entertaining," Elena joked as she took another bite of her spaghetti.

—

"Elena," Damon said.

"What?" Elena asked as she stood and gathered their dishes after they were done eating.

"You don't have to clean anymore," he stood and tried to take the plates from her hands. "She who cooks in this house does not do the dishes."

Elena rolled her eyes and the dishes back as she darted around him. "I'm taking care of you. _Let me_." She smiled to herself when he rolled his eyes, and turned on the sink.

Elena liked taking care of Damon more than she wanted to admit to herself, she realized. It felt perfectly natural to get his niece in bed, to clean and cook for him. Elena hadn't ever been the type of woman to stay at home and be a house wife. Matt learned that quickly while they were married, but she missed the companionship of having someone around to take care of on occasion. It's why she offered to help him with Amy earlier when he started to break down.

"Hey!" She yelped when he reached over and turned the sink off and turned her around. Damon pinned her lightly against the counter, one of his hands on her waist as he reached up to push back some of her hair. "What are you doing?"

"I was wrong," Damon said.

Elena's heart raced as his lips inched in closer to hers, his blue eyes focused on her so intensely she wondered how it didn't completely steal her breath. "What were you wrong about?"

"You have grown up… I don't think we should just be friends."

"Damon…" Elena started to say, but he quickly shushed her when he placed his index fingers over her lips.

"Hear me out, please?" Elena nodded silently, her heart still racing. "I don't know if you're ready for another relationship. I know you struggle with what Matt did to you, but I'd never hurt you like that. We both love each other, it's so obvious, and it hurts not being with you when I want it so badly."

Elena reached up to take the and with his finger that was on her lips. "I think I—"

"Let me finish? I've had a day that was crazy enough, I just need to get this out before I back out of it. That's our problem, Elena, we keep dancing around everything. If there's one thing I took out of losing my sister, it's that life is short and you never know what to expect from it. I'm in love with you, and we shouldn't be just friends."

She smirked at him. "Damon Salvatore, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

She didn't stop him when he kissed her. It felt like it'd been too long even though it hadn't been all that long ago that they kissed the morning after she sent him that stupid text message after she'd gotten upset with Matt and drank entirely too much. His lips were soft, and she felt like would burst if she didn't kiss him back and so she did.

"What if I am?" he asked after he pulled away.

"Then I'd say we've wasted enough time. I've been thinking about it a lot too… about us, about what happened to Anna, and I think you're completely right. I'm a little scared about being in a relationship again but I love you too damn much not to try."

"Please, if you get mad at me, just don't run off and marry some other guy—"

Elena burst out laughing at the look on his face. "I think we can both agree I was a pretty stupid eighteen year old. I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

Damon only responded by eagerly kissing her again. Elena kissed him back and didn't even stop him when his and grazed the hem of her shirt and up over one of her breasts as their kissing became more heated. She wanted this. She'd only been with Damon once, but she realized a long time ago it never exactly felt right when she was married. He never touched her in the right spot, or he was too rough—when Damon's mouth grazed against her ear and moved down her neck to her shoulder, she felt like her entire body lit up, making her moan.

"Shit," Damon said when he suddenly pulled his mouth away from her skin. His hips were pressed into her stomach and she could feel his hardness. Elena wanted to reach down, but she refrained, and she managed not to complain when he pulled his hand from her shirt.

"What's wrong?" Damn, when had she started breathing loud?

"My niece is upstairs…" He groaned and pressed his forehead against her chest. "I don't want to make love to you again for the first time in six years with the threat of Hurricane Amy looming over our heads."

"Katherine still owes me for the time I bailed her out of trouble for sneaking out with Elijah when she was fifteen," Elena smirked. "I think I can pull a babysitter favor in from her some time…"

Damon smiled at her and leaned his forehead against hers. "They love Amy, I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I'd love to take you on a proper date."

"I think I'd love that too… so we're going to try this?"

"Yeah," Damon said. "I guess we are."

"My dad has gone completely _nuts_."

Elena sat up quickly in her bed at The Mae Flower as her door slammed shut and Caroline loudly sat on the edge of her bed.

"Jesus," Elena said. "It's nine in the morning. I'm trying to sleep," she complained.

"Exactly. It's nine in the morning," Caroline said. "Why are you in bed so late?"

Elena felt herself blush as she thought about the reason why. She hadn't slept with Damon but she'd stayed with him pretty late. "I just didn't get to bed until three."

Caroline fixed her with a skeptical look. "Spill."

Elena shook her head, not ready to tell her about her new relationship change with Damon. "I need more sleep before we have that conversation. What's Bill done?"

"Oh, okay, yeah, I'll tell you that because you're probably going to have to work the night it happens. Freaking Matt and April are getting married!"

"What?" Elena squeaked, her eyes widening. "Is he crazy? He's only been with her for like—not even—that _bastard._"

"That was my response! He's like, giving her a real wedding and everything and asked Daddy if he can have the wedding reception here!"

Fuck. That hurt. It hurt more than Elena wanted it to as she drew in a deep breath and fought back a sudden onslaught of tears that wanted to break through. She felt even worse than usual; she'd _just _gotten into a relationship with Damon, after all.

"Oh, crap," Caroline said, smacking her head suddenly. "I'm sorry, I should have thought before I opened my big fat mouth."

"It's okay," Elena said. "It's kind of low that he is giving her a real wedding but I _hope_ Bill said no."

"That's the thing," Caroline said with a frustrated shriek. "The Mae Flower isn't just a bar, it's a bed and breakfast and Dad has prided himself on having wedding receptions and other kinds of parties for a long time. It's one of the reasons we hosted Anna's wake…" She looked sad for a moment but then shook her head and fiddled the chain of a necklace around her neck. "He agreed and April's paying for the stupid wedding. In fact, she heard I have like, awesome party planning and cooking skills, and freakin' begged Dad to have me make the food for their stupid wedding."

"This is awful," Elena said in shock. She suddenly smacked Caroline's shoulder. "You didn't tell me you cook. You're like, all over the damn place."

Caroline huffed. "It's one of the reasons I'm not finishing school I can't ever decide what I want to do. But this is like, a disaster, and we're going to need all of our staff when they have their stupid wedding reception."

"Oh, god, don't tell me they want to spend their wedding night at here," Elena said.

"That's up in the air but I think that is going to happen. Dad can't tell them no. April is paying a lot of money—you know—I don't even know how she got the freakin' money. She got laid off from her job working as a receptionist at a hospital in Richmond."

"I can't believe this is happening—but I guess I don't have to stay here that night."

"You can come spend the night with me," Caroline said. "I'm sure you'll be upset after…"

"When is this happening?" Elena asked even though she _really _didn't want to know as she dug out her cell phone from underneath her pillow and sat up.

"Ugh. I don't want to tell you this," Caroline groaned as she buried her head into her hands. "It's happening next week, on Friday."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Elena shrieked anger, slapping the bed with her phone. "He's marrying her the day right before _we _got married!"

* * *

I've only seen wedding pictures when my ex got remarried, but he did get married to his new wife a day before what would've been our second wedding anniversary. That's all coming up next month and-yeah-ugh.

Don't worry about me. I'm fine, but this might play a semi-big role in the story the next chapter or so. I'm one of those writers who takes "write what you know" to heart very seriously. It makes for a better story!

It's also a part of Elena's character development. She hasn't really dealt with how Matt made her feel when they got divorced, bending backwards to keep things nice between them. I'm a little relieved Damon and Elena are together now, can't wait for them to get alone time. ;)

Be sure to review! You guys have been amazing with your feedback so far, please keep it up (I'm actually a shameless review whore. My brothers always give me strange looks if they're around when I get a review alert on my phone). Do you like it when I respond to reviews? I'm not the best responding but I do try.

So, if you want to see my dismay over my bunny shedding so much his ass has gone bald (Winnie's having his huge molt right now), how excited I get when Micky (one of my brothers) grills hamburgers for me when I'm working, or random tweets when I'm on a _really _boring survey on work, go ahead and follow me on twitter. It's anglcdmn1986, same as my pen name.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Ughhhh I obsessed and ripped note book pages up and banged my head into the desk a few times over this chapter. Taaroko even walked me through a bad writer's block (THANK YOU, YOU'RE A FUCKING LIFE SAVER SWEETIE). I'm getting antsier now that November is slowly creeping up on me and everything is going to have to go on hold soon so I can work on my new novel (I'm putting details in the author notes below).

Thanks, Kate, for pre-reading. I've been editing myself lately for CG. If you see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to let me know.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

"Amy's in bed snug as a bug," Elena said as she plopped down on the couch next to Damon. "She really likes it when I read _Where the Wild Things Are_ to her."

"When are we going to tell everyone we're dating?" Damon asked as he wrapped his arm around her.

"I'm not sure," Elena said. "I'm not really ready… I kind of like having this secret between us right now." Amy hadn't even seen them kiss in front of her. Elena was very particular in not letting Amy see or hear anything. She'd gone through enough as it was, and Damon at least agreed with her on that. She closed her eyes and sighed softly when he brushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck. "Don't you like keeping it to ourselves right now?"

"It has its perks," Damon admitted, "but wouldn't you like to be able to ask someone to watch Amy with us so we can have a real night together?"

Elena wasn't going to admit this aloud, but she was a little nervous about actually being alone with him. The last time they made love to each other he left the next morning with a stupid excuse that he didn't think they should ruin their friendship. She'd gone off and married the next guy who showed her attention. Warning bells rang loudly in the back of her mind as she reasoned with herself that it was only natural for her to feel nervous about being in a relationship again so soon after her divorce—she hadn't even been divorced a full year yet—especially with Damon, when she was terrified of what another really bad fight might do to the both of them.

He made her feel like a damn virgin all over, pulling her closer to him so he could have better access to her neck.

"Mmmhmm," Elena closed her eyes as she tried to focus on what she wanted to say, "I do, trust me, I do," she barely managed the words without moaning as his lips worked their way up to the sensitive spot just underneath her earlobe. "I just think we need to take things slowly and enjoy being with each other before we announce to the whole world that we're in a relationship. It's not anyone's damn business."

Damon laughed at her, loudly. "I'll let you have your way for now," he said, "if you spend the night with me."

"But we can't—" Elena protested.

"We've gone over this already. Baby, when we make love again it's going to be when we've talked someone to watch Amy for us," one of his hands skimmed over her left breast and Elena shot him a playful glare. Damon smirked. "We could easily get away with it now with her in bed but I plan on making you scream."

Damn, damn, damn. Elena turned bright red as she pulled away from him quickly and shot up from the couch, turning to face him as she faked a yawn. "If you want me to stay with you the night then we should head up to bed. I'm tired."

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, causing her to nervously shift from one foot to the other because of the confused look on his face.

Elena shook her head quickly. "No, why would something be wrong?"

"Are you afraid I'm going to change my mind about us again after—"

"Damon, please, I don't want to talk about it, okay?" It wasn't just that. She was nervous about Matt's wedding reception because she hadn't figured out a valid reason to get out of that yet. She hadn't told Damon. She didn't want him to intervene or worry about her or get hurt because Elena felt hurt that Matt was getting married. "I won't protest spending the night so you can hold me."

For a moment she worried he would get mad at her for avoiding the subject by the way he frowned at her, but Damon only shook his head and then stood up. "I'm glad you're at least going to stay the night with me."

"Yeah, of course," Elena said. She reached for his hand, much more awake than she wanted to be as nervous energy thrummed through her. She smiled at him, slowly pulling him to her so she could kiss him softly. "I love you. You've been so patient with me."

"I wish you would talk to me a little more about what's going on inside that head of yours," Damon admitted, "but I won't push as long as you're just here with me."

—

She obsessed all week about what she was going to do about working Matt and April's wedding reception. She felt especially horrible because had several chances to fess up to Damon and she hadn't said a damn word to him about it.

Okay, maybe that was unfair. Maybe Caroline wouldn't do that. She just kept fixating about what happened with her last relationship, how Matt cheated on her, and how he was marrying April the day before what would have been their seventh wedding anniversary. Damon didn't need someone who was messed up in the head still about their last relationship, right? He had enough of his own problems with learning how to be a dad to Amy rather than just her uncle, and the new responsibility of owning a bigger company than just being a mechanic.

"Go on, ask Daddy," Caroline said with a shove against Elena's shoulder. "Ask him. He's _got _to understand how upset you are about working Matt and April's wedding."

It was _also _already bad enough that Caroline was pushing her to do something about working at the reception. Elena hadn't told Caroline that Damon was now her boyfriend. She would _especially _be on her case if Elena let her know Damon was her boyfriend now.

"_Stop it_," Elena hissed. The bar was busy, lively, and loud, and it was the night before the wedding reception. She hate even thinking about the fact that Matt was having a real wedding the woman he cheated on her with, and she furiously ducked her head around to face a shelf of liquor bottles while a woman in her thirties demanded six whiskey shots.

It felt entirely too crowded that night at work for a Thursday, with Elena, Caroline, and Bill serving drinks. Caroline shot her a frustrated look as she quickly pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels and turned to serve the woman demanding drinks. Elena threw herself into putting together two pitchers of Budweiser for a man who stared at her breasts entirely too long.

"Hey, eyes up here," Elena hissed at him as she shoved the beer at him. "That'll be sixteen dollars."

"Add it to my tab, sweetie," the guy said as he turned and walked away.

"Ugh, creep," Elena grumbled as Caroline made her way back over to her.

"You need to tell Dad you can't work, Elena," Caroline started right back in on her.

"He's made it very clear he needs all hands on deck tomorrow," Elena said.

"Just _do _it," Caroline groaned.

"Fine!" Elena said, slamming her hand down on the bar. She marched over to Bill and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Elena, what is it? We've got a lot of orders on this side right now—"

"I can't work tomorrow," Elena said. "It's my ex-husband's wedding reception. I emotionally can't handle it."

Bill frowned at her as he waved Caroline over.

"It's hard to hear right now," Bill said. "Can you man the bar for a few minutes, Caroline?"

Caroline nodded, threw her father thumbs up, and started pouring mixing a drink as Bill motioned for Elena to follow him back into the kitchen.

"What's this about you can't work tomorrow night?" Bill said as soon as they were the kitchen, which was slightly quieter. Liz and another cook seemed too busy to pay them much mind as they worked.

"I just can't work it," Elena said. "You know my history with Matt and April, how do you think I'm going to feel tomorrow when I see them happy and celebrating the fact that they just got married?" Elena asked. She hated doing this. She felt so unprofessional. Bill was an old family friend, but he was also her boss, and she never liked the special treatment he gave her in knocking off some of the money she owed him each month for living upstairs in one of the rooms he kept open for the inn portion of the bar/bed/breakfast combo he had for The Mae Flower.

"I need all hands on deck, Elena," Bill said. "I know it must be horrible for you to know Matt is getting married—"

"It's more than just horrible," Elena said. "I feel like I'm getting stabbed in the back constantly and I just don't want to see them happy and married. Saturday would've been our seventh wedding anniversary and I never had a real wedding with him. He's giving April a real wedding and I don't know if I can handle seeing any of it."

Liz seemed to stop working now, staring at them. Elena felt herself flush red. This was embarrassing to admit, especially with the way Liz looked at her sympathetically.

"It's just too damn bad," Bill said with a sigh. "I need everyone tomorrow. They're having a lot of people come to this wedding reception and Caroline already refused to cater it, so everyone's hands are going to be tied. I need you tending that bar tomorrow."

"Elena, honey, I make a lot of exceptions for you because you're Caroline's best friend, and Grayson's daughter, but I gave you this job because you needed it and you have to remember I'm your boss."

"_Bill!_" Liz hissed. "Be a little more sensitive!"

Bill ignored Liz. "You work when I tell you to work, and I'm telling you need to work tomorrow. I made an exception for you leaving early whenever Damon needed you to come over and help him with Amy—"

"His sister died," Elena said stiffly.

"Exactly. His sister died, and he felt overwhelmed, and everyone was extremely sad over what happened to Anna. I can't make that same exception for you in this case."

Elena glared at him angrily, tears burning the edge of her eyes. "What happens if I don't work tomorrow?"

"Then you don't have a job," Bill said, making Elena's heart clench, "and you won't be able to afford the room I'm letting you stay in."

"_Bill!_" Liz said louder, slamming a basket of chicken wings on the counter.

"Dad! You're acting completely unreasonable!" Caroline shrieked from the entrance between the kitchen and bar.

"You said you'd take care of the front, Caroline," Bill barked. "Get back out there."

Hot tears sprang to Elena's eyes. "Fine. I'll work tomorrow," Elena said.

Bill sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'll let you keep the tips plus the money you pull in for making tips."

"Yeah, sure," Elena said. "Sounds great."

It didn't sound great. It sounded awful because she still had to work during Matt and April's wedding reception and she didn't know how she was going to make it through the entire night.

—

The day of Matt's wedding, Elena decided she couldn't take it anymore and that she needed to talk to someone. That was how she found herself sitting at Katherine's kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee and a honey bun she aimlessly picked at while Katherine talked to her.

"It's going to be so great with you living at Jeremy's," Katherine said. "Trust me. He and Bonnie have been so excited about it—"

"I actually told them I'm not moving in with them," Elena said.

"What?" Katherine said with the shock evident in her voice as she placed her cup of green tea down. "Why not?"

"I really feel like I would be imposing on their little family they've started," Elena said. "I'm trying to make it on my own and I feel like it'll set me back exponentially if I start relying on them."

"You are so damn stubborn," Katherine said with a shake of her head. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with you. This is one of the reasons you were gone from home so long, you know."

Elena winced a little bit at the memory of why she'd been gone for so long. "That's actually one of the reasons I wanted this good old fashioned sister bonding time," Elena said. "I've also got some good news, I guess."

"I've got some news too, actually," Katherine said standing to take her tea mug over to the kitchen counter, "but what do you mean, that's one of the reasons you wanted to see me?"

Elena shouldn't have come to dump her problems on her sister. She saw the way Katherine's eyes lit up when she said she had news too, so Elena naturally assumed it was good news when she asked, "What kind of news do you have? Please tell me it's good."

"It's very good," Katherine said. "I'm pregnant and this time I think the baby is going to be a healthy one."

"Really?" Elena asked. When Katherine nodded, Elena squealed and stood to hug her.

"The doctor is watching me closely and I'm trying to take it easy, but this pregnancy just _feels _good." Katherine said as she hugged Elena back. "I think the Damon has known a while, but we just asked that no one say anything about it."

"That explains why you were drinking tea," Elena teased. Katherine loved coffee. "This is the best news I've heard all week."

Katherine didn't let Elena go when she tried to pull away from her. "I can tell something's wrong… what is it? Did you get into another fight with Damon?"

"What?" Elena shook her head. "No, no, we didn't get into a fight. What makes you think that?"

Katherine smirked. "Do you really think I don't notice it when your shitty station wagon is parked outside in his garage?" Katherine's smirk got wider when Elena quickly looked away. "Or that I don't notice it when you spend an entire night with him? He's my neighbor. I notice _everything." _

"You just watch so you can gossip with Elijah," Elena said with a roll of her eyes.

"What I do with my fiancé isn't any of your concern," Katherine teased as she let Elena go. "Is Damon as good in bed as he was six years ago?"

Elena was pretty sure she was blushing bright red. "We've only been together for a week and having a five year old living in his house hasn't exactly given us a lot of free time with each other."

"That's ridiculous. I was there the when Alaric offered to watch Amy and Damon called you to ask you to spend the night with him. He looked very upset you told him no."

That was the exact reason Elena needed to talk to her sister. She sighed, her shoulders deflating when she sat back down at the kitchen table. Katherine wordlessly sat next to her as she waited for Elena to say something.

"I want to spend the night with Damon so bad but I can't," Elena finally spoke. "Matt is getting married to April."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Everyone knew that," she said. "That isn't news. I wish I could castrate the son of a bitch for you."

It wasn't new, Elena supposed. There had been a damn wedding announcement in the newspaper about it after all. "Did you know they're having the wedding reception at The Mae Flower?"

"I didn't," Katherine said. "That's so stupid. You _should _spend the night with Damon. Don't put yourself through listening to bunch of their happy family and friends all night. Those walls are paper thin upstairs."

Elena heaved a sigh, "I can't," she said, "Bill is making me work tonight. If I don't work, he's going to fire me, and then I'm going to be out of a job and a place to live. I absolutely _refuse _to give in and say Matt has beaten me and that I can't stand there with a bright, lively smile on my face when I look right at him and tell him and April congratulations on getting married."

"You're being totally ridiculous," Katherine gasped. "You do not have to put yourself through that. Have you told Dad? If he found out Bill threatened to fire you his ass would be laid flat so fast—"

"Caroline is the only other person who knows," Elena said. "Damon knows I'm working, but I haven't told him it's going to be Matt's wedding reception. I don't think he gives a damn what Matt does as long as he leaves me alone, and our relationship is so new I don't want to stress him out over worrying about me. He's got enough on his plate taking care of Amy and doing this new CEO thing with the logging company his dad gave him."

"I heard you right, when you told me Damon is your boyfriend?" Katherine asked.

"Of course," Elena said.

"That man has been in love with you for years," Katherine said. "At this point I know for a fact he wants to take care of you and that you have been worrying him every time someone mentions Matt and you get upset. I wasn't surprised when you told me that the two of you are together because he's been so worried about you this week I actually overheard Alaric and Elijah having a conversation about the two of you. You both weren't very good about hiding your new relationship status."

"Yeah, well…"

"Screw Matt Donovan. If you say you can work tonight and be strong then I say go for it. But you're insecure about something else aren't you? There's something else you wanted to talk to me about?"

Elena sighed as she reached for her coffee mug. She told herself she was being silly for the thousandth time as she swallowed a few sips. "I'm just worried I jumped into a relationship with Damon too fast. I wasn't ready to tell anyone we're together and it upset him even though he really didn't say anything to me about it. I blame myself sometimes for Matt cheating and leaving me, and I'm just…I'm worried it's going to happen to me all over again, even though it's Damon."

"Elena," Katherine said softly. "I can't tell you what to do. You're a grown woman and you've been a little lost lately but I've seen the way you and Damon are together even when you were just labeling each other as friends. What happened to you wasn't your fault."

"It was my fault, though," Elena said. "I wasn't the best wife in the world. I never did laundry, I knew how to cook but it became really easy to eat at fast food restaurants every night. I didn't encourage Matt to actually go out and get a real job and I feel like I let him cheat on me."

Katherine let out what sounded like a bit of a cackle as she suddenly started laughing at Elena. "Look at my sink. Does it look like I'm going to be the perfect little house wife? Hell no! If you think Damon Salvatore is ever going to cheat on you then I think you need to get your head examined little sister. That man _loves _you."

"I feel stupid," Elena finally said after a few moments. Katherine was right. Of course she was right, Damon did love her. "I just worry about him backing out, and realizing he doesn't want to—"

"Honey, you're both older now," Katherine said, "and dare I say wiser. I think you're just working yourself up into a worry for no reason."

—

Damon lost himself in tuning up his Camaro in his garage, changing spark plugs, checking the breaks, changing the oil, trying not to let himself feel angry because Elena wouldn't spend the night with him after Alaric offered to watch Amy for the night. At some point Elijah had stopped over to hang out with him for a bit, but then Katherine had come over and told him dinner was ready and that Grayson and Jeremy were there so he needed to come home. They invited Damon over, but he was in the middle of draining the old oil so he decided not to go over.

He just couldn't understand Elena's behavior. They were together now. He _thought _they were in a good place together, but she wouldn't agree to take the night off work so he could take her out on a real date. Katherine had slyly mentioned she now knew he and Elena were together when she came to fetch Elijah for dinner. That made Damon more frustrated with Elena, even though he knew it was an irrational frustration.

Damon shook his head at himself. He'd wanted to be with Elena Gilbert since they were teenagers and had been an idiot when he was twenty two and she'd given him the chance to be with her. No matter how dodgy Elena was acting it wasn't going to affect his belief that she genuinely wanted to be with him. The mere fact that she'd been at his place several times that week to help him with Amy was proof enough, and they hadn't slept together yet but Damon had enjoyed waking up that one morning with her in his arms.

"Hey Damon," Jeremy said as he walked into the garage, Grayson walking behind him.

"Gray, Jer, I didn't think you guys would be over," Damon said as he grabbed a rag from the back of an old foldable camping chair and wiped oil grease from his hands.

Grayson wore a worried look on his face, the same one he'd had when he and Jeremy were over earlier. Damon recognized it because he had seen Elena wearing that same look all week, every time she thought he wasn't looking.

"Did you know Matt got married today and they're having the reception at The Mae Flower?"

Damon frowned, walking away from the open hood of his Camaro. "No, I didn't know."

Grayson shoved his hands into his jeans. "Bill is forcing Elena to work tonight."

Suddenly Elena's behavior all week made perfect sense to Damon as he thought about the way she avoided his questions when he asked her how work was going.

"Fuck," he said, leaning against the hood of the Camaro. "Why the hell didn't she say no to Bill?"

"Bill threatened to fire her," Jeremy said. "He's been a dick the whole week about her not being comfortable about it."

Grayson sighed tiredly. "Elena being who she is, she feels like she has to work because she's so determined to be on her own. She won't move out of The Mae Flower and she acts like it's the only job she'll be able to find in town. I promised the girls I wouldn't start a fight but there isn't a thing I can do if the two of you crash the wedding party."

"Shit," Damon raked his hand over his face. He didn't want to get Elena fired from her job, but he also felt like she shouldn't be working and living at The Mae Flower, no matter that the Forbes were old family friends. "If I go over there I'm going to end up kicking Donovan's ass."

"I know you want to," Jeremy said. "I wouldn't stop you because I know you and my sister have been in a relationship sometime since last week."

"What?" Damon asked, his gaze snapping to Jeremy's. "Damn it! I wanted to tell everyone _with _her."

Grayson chuckled. "You live next to Katherine and Elijah. They've noticed how often Elena has been over here lately."

"Well, I don't think it's any secret that I'm in love with her," Damon said. "I sure as hell won't ever hurt her like Donovan did."

"Well, then what the hell are we waiting for?" Jeremy asked. "Let's go wreck a wedding party and get my sister the hell out of there."

* * *

Originally I was going to write Mae's story for NaNoWriMo (Mae is Caroline in the original work/the character's actual name) but something personal happened and I've decided I'm not going with that yet. I want that done before I start the companion piece to this story, so I'm starting another one. I might post it on fictionpress or Wattpad as I'm writing it—do you guys _want _to read any of my original work (CG is original but I _am _presenting it to you as fan fiction and all that jazz)?

This idea stemmed from a piece I wrote in 2011 while I was still married and an undergrad at EKU in my Creative Writing Capstone about a girl who resorts to naked house cleaning when she gets desperate to take care of her kids. I never really developed that story, but my professor loved the premise, so I'm rebooting it… it also might be real-life inspired from another friend and a tad of rolling my eyes and thinking I can write a story far fucking better than Jacinda Wilder (don't get me wrong, she's a damn good writer, but her characters annoyed me in all three stories of hers that I've read).

So. Yeah. Let me know if you guys want to read that.

Anyway, lots of important stuff going on in this chapter. Elena feeling insecure, Jeremy, Damon, and Grayson rushing off to her rescue. I'm going to have to explain the story about the drape vests to you after the next chapter (something that happened with my ex-husband, I'm not going to explain it now because I'm wired on caffeine ad I need to get this nano plotting out… and I really don't feel like dissolving into a complete mess of giggles). I'm gonna try to update CG at least once more before November first (as well as HOH). If I finish mid-way through the month during NaNo like I have before, I might update.

Anyway I'm gonna stop this hyper-caffeine babbling I'm on and let y'all go. Please don't forget to review. I'm nervous as fuck about this chapter for some reason.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo starting this week on Friday, I edited this very minimally. There's a reason for that-I'll explain in a longer author's note. I had itchy writing fingers, though, so I figured I owed you guys one more update before I start the new story.

Thank you, Kate, for the pre-read.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Elena fought nausea as she watched Matt wrap his arm around April's waist as they stood amongst friends and family at the bar. She was certain the best man and maid of honor were due to make a toast at any moment and Elena was furious at Caroline because she had disappeared fifteen minutes ago, abandoning Elena so she could do who-knows-what while Bill barked orders at her. Even worse? Matt's mother kept sending her sympathetic looks every time she came to the bar to order another martini for her and Vicky, Matt's sister. Vicky kept glaring at her the whole time; as if for some reason it was an affront to her personally that Elena was there during Matt's wedding reception, like she was a pariah who needed to be avoided at all costs. Not once had she come to get her own drink.

Screw them, Elena told herself. She could get through this night, and she would make it through seeing Matt and April acting lovey-dovey, sympathetic looks from his mother, and bitchy, judgmental glares from his sister. One woman's trash was another woman's treasure, right? Well, at least Matt was April's problem now, Elena decided, even though it still hurt that they were getting married a day before her and Matt's original wedding date.

Besides, he wore a badly sewn green vest with some sort of white and blue paisley design April proudly declared she made herself. All of the men in the wedding party wore one, and April's older brother's was worst of all because he was a bigger guy and the vest looked completely misaligned. Instead of hiring a professional caterer, they'd gotten their reception dinner together via declaration that it would be a Pot Luck, and April's wedding dress looked like it was a two dollar hand-me-down from Good Will.

Elena didn't even want to think about the wedding cake.

It was green.

It looked like it should be part of the mud pie Amy had tried to get her to eat earlier that week.

Elena was very aware she was acting like a bitch, but what else was she going to do? The urge to hide in the bathroom and cry was very pressing although she managed to keep herself together the whole time as she served drinks and made small talk with wedding guests. Some of them knew she was Matt's ex-wife, others didn't recognize her because they were part of April's family and they'd never met her before. One of April's cousins even tried hitting on her, but Elena quickly, and gladly, informed him that she had a boyfriend. Matt had been standing next to him when he heard it, and he'd seemed like he wanted to ask her about it, but instead April said something to him and he immediately turned to give his new bride attention.

Most of all, Elena was angry Matt and April were having a real wedding. All she'd gotten when she married Matt was a hasty signature for their marriage license where he quickly whisked her across the hall to get married by the Justice of the Peace. They ended up having McDonald's for dinner that night and later they filled out college applications. Her father had not been pleased she got married so fast, and that she didn't tell anyone.

And, well, Damon's reaction had hurt her the most.

"Damn," Elena muttered to herself as she pulled a cap off of a Bud Lite. She quickly shoved the drink in the direction of the waiting wedding guest, not bothering to look at them as she quickly reached behind her head and ripped out her pony tail holder and then quickly put it back up as she thought about what she could do to calm herself down. She didn't want anyone to see her cry if she started, and so she stopped for a moment with her back turned to everyone as she took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to gain control of herself.

"Bill?" Elena finally asked a second later, sure he was about to yell at her to get back to work.

"We've got—"

"I need a break," Elena interrupted him. "I've been working four hours and haven't even gone to the bathroom. You need to give me a break." Her voice cracked just a little bit and she cursed herself for not being able to keep her shit together.

"Do you know where Caroline is?" he asked, his voice softening from the one he'd been using to bark orders at her all night, as if he suddenly realized she really did need a break. Bill had to know this was hard on her, seeing her ex-husband in brand new marital bliss with the woman he'd cheated on her with. Bill wasn't a complete asshole—he was very stressed out by the full house tonight at the bar—and Elena couldn't fault him for that.

"I'm not sure. I was hoping I could go find her?" Elena took in a deep breath, telling herself that Bill might give her the break she needed. "The booze rush has calmed down a little."

"I just poured the champagne," Bill said. "Go ahead and take a break, but please don't take your long one yet. Tell Caroline she needs to get her ass back out here."

"Sure thing," Elena said, quickly rushing out from behind the bar.

"So I have some great news, actually," April said as Elena reached the woman's rest room. "I'm pregnant!"

~.~

"Damon, you need to get here _right now_," Caroline said as she leaned against the sink in the woman's rest room. "I'm pretty sure Elena is going to have a panic attack, go crazy bitch on Matt and April, or burst into tears."

"I'm almost there," Damon said as he pressed his foot on the gas of Anna's car.

"What's going on?" Grayson asked as Damon hung up his phone and shoved it in his pocket.

"Elena is upset, just like I knew she would be," Damon growled out. "April is pregnant and announced it in front of everyone."

"What the fuck?" Jeremy growled out. "Man, I knew Matt was a dickhead but he really let April announce that in front of Elena? She wanted kids with him and he wouldn't agree to it the entire time they were married."

"I didn't know that," Damon said, clenching his jaw as he forced himself to stop at a red light rather than run it. The last thing Elena needed was for her boyfriend, brother, and father to get into a car accident on the way over to rescue her from a shitty work situation. He told himself that, anyway, as he quickly hit the gas as soon as the light was green again. Jeremy and Grayson did not complain about his speed.

"You boys might have to hold me back from kicking Bill's ass," Grayson said. "He knows what happened to Elena. How could he do this to her?"

"Not sure, Dad," Jeremy said from the back seat. "But I won't stop you if it happens."

The three of them jumped out of the car as soon as Damon parked and turned off the engine. The three of them buzzed past the girl who tried to ask if they were wedding guests who were arriving late—Grayson might have growled something at her, but Damon wasn't sure, he was so focused on getting to Elena.

"Damon, Jeremy, Grayson—" Bill said as the three of them came up to the bar. "What's going on? I have a—"

"Where is Elena?" Jeremy and Grayson asked simultaneously while Damon looked around, trying to spot her.

"What the hell is going on?" Bill asked. "Elena is on a break."

Caroline came out of the woman's bathroom and motioned for Damon to come to her quickly. He left Bill, Grayson, and Jeremy, pushing through the crowd of offended wedding guests as he made no effort to be nice to anybody in his need to see Elena and make sure she was all right. He even pushed past an elderly woman on her way to the bathroom, who Caroline quickly apologized to before she locked the rest room door behind them.

"Elena?" Damon asked.

Elena hurriedly opened the stall door to one of the toilets, the door banging loudly against the wall as she looked at him, her eyes wide and her mascara smeared with tears. Her hair looked awful, too, as if she'd been raking her hands through it a bunch of times in order to calm down.

"Damon?" She asked. She sounded like she was trying to hold back her emotions, and she sounded frustrated, like she was angry at herself for feeling upset about Bill's insistence she work at Matt's wedding reception. She sounded like she was trying not to be hurt by everything that'd been done to her.

"Fuck, baby, come here," Damon said, pulling her into his arms. She went without hesitation but she didn't hug him back either and he could feel how tense she was as she tried to fight back tears. "I wish you had told me Bill threatened to fire you if you didn't work tonight."

"I didn't want you to get pissed off at me," Elena said, finally, as she hugged him back.

"I could never be angry at you about this," Damon said as he kissed her temple. "I'm getting you out of here."

Elena quickly scrambled out of his arms. "No. No way. I am going to clean myself up, get myself together, and go back out there and finish this shift."

"No you aren't, Elena," Caroline said. "I don't care what Daddy says—let me handle him—you are not going to put yourself through this emotional stress anymore."

"Alaric is babysitting," Damon said, "let me take you back to my place and I'll make you dinner and—"

"No, damn it," Elena said. "I can handle this."

"Elena, I don't doubt you can handle it," Caroline said softly as if she was talking to a frightened animal, and right now Elena sort of looked like one. "But you have been trying too hard to be nice to Matt, and be friends with Matt, and I don't think anyone really understands it but that's because you're hurting yourself and I know you aren't the sort of person who actively seeks out that kind of pain. It sucks, what Matt did to you, and he's your ex-husband for a reason. He's taken advantage of your kindness and I want to _kill _my dad for making you work tonight, but you do not have to be here right now. Especially not to see every single wedding guest out there repeatedly congratulating them on the baby that's on the way."

Elena deflated, reaching for Damon's hand while she wiped her eyes with another. He immediately pulled her to him for another hug.

"Okay," she said. "Yeah, I want to get out of here." This time she hugged Damon back, burying her head into his chest and breathing deeply.

A loud, sharp rap against the door startled the three of them.

"Ugh," Elena said. "I wish I could hide in here the rest of the night."

"You need to stop hiding from everything when it gets bad, Elena," Damon said. "Come on," he said, releasing her from their hug.

"I'm worried about what Bill is going to do," Elena said. "Kind of can't lose this job."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Damon said to her.

"I'll kick Daddy's ass if he fires you," Caroline chirped. "Don't worry."

The look on the elderly woman's face at seeing Damon in the woman's bathroom was priceless. Her face hung ajar and her eyes narrowed as soon as she seemed to realize what she was doing, her mouth snapping shut as she muttered something Damon didn't catch. As soon as he saw Matt, the anger he'd been fighting the moment he stepped into the bar snapped like a rubber band and he let go of Elena.

Flesh smashed against his fist, satisfied when he felt cartilage and bone bending. Matt stumbled back in shock, his hand flying to his face as blood gushed from his nose and Damon shook his right hand out.

"What the fuck, man?"

"I can't tell you to get the hell out of this town," Damon said very calmly, "but I can tell you to stay the fuck out of Elena's life. What were you thinking?"

"What is wrong with you?" April asked, rushing over to Matt with napkins as she fruitlessly tried to stop the bleeding.

"That's for hurting Elena," Damon said.

"The fuck did I do to Elena?" Matt demanded, as if he didn't think he did anything wrong. "She and I have no problems—"

"I'm tired of this asshole hurting my girlfriend," Damon said loudly in front of everyone at the reception. "Seriously, Dickie? The fuck you two don't have problems. It's not enough that you cheat on her and leave her for this two-bit whore," April gasped at the insult, "—sorry, cupcake, but it's true—but you're marrying her a day before you married Elena and then you have your fucking wedding reception where she works. You're lucky all I've done is break your nose."

"Elena," Matt said, looking past Damon to her. "Get your psychotic boyfriend out of my wedding reception. Christ, I think I might have to go to the hospital…"

"My psychotic boyfriend?" Elena nearly shrieked. "Damon is anything but wrong in this situation," she hissed as she stomped up to them.

"Elena," Bill yelled in warning.

"Screw this!" Elena said. "I'm tired of you, Matt, and I can't believe you're actually having a kid with this duck-faced moron when I was so much prettier."

Damon stared at her, speechless.

Elena was on a bitch roll, and it was kind of hot.

"I can't believe you're actually _with _this guy now," Matt shouted right back to her, pushing April away from him gently. "You cried for months after we moved to Kentucky and you never told me the reason why, other than that you lost your best friend because we got married. You didn't tell me then, but you started to resent me for it, and that made our marriage fall apart—"

"Don't you _dare _blame me!" Elena shrieked this time, ripping her pony tail out of her hair and then angrily stabbing Matt in the chest with a finger. "If anything, you made me waste six years of my life on you when I could have been happy with Damon!"

"I _knew _that's why—"

"THAT'S ENOUGH," Bill said making his way through the crowd of stunned wedding guests, startling Elena and Matt away from each other. "I'm so sorry," he said awkwardly, to Matt, "but I think it might have been a bad idea to have the ex-wife work tonight."

A few guests laughed nervously while Grayson stomped up to Bill.

"I don't think it needs to be said we're removing my daughter from this situation."

"By all means, do it," Bill said. "You're fired, Elena, I will not have drama like this—"

"_Dad!"_ Caroline cried.

"I'm fired?" Elena asked. "_Fired?_ Screw you, Bill! I quit! I'm so much better than this stupid job anyway—no offence Caroline—I could find something that pays _much_ better."

"Do you have the key to your room, Elena?" Jeremy asked. "I think I should pack your stuff up and get you out of here tonight."

"I'm _still _not moving in with you, Jeremy," Elena said.

"You sure as hell can't stay here," Bill said, clenching his jaw.

"Whatever, I'll go to a nicer place," Elena shot at him. "By the way, are you wearing the fucking curtains I made for our first apartment?" Elena said to Matt, turning her head to the side as she studied what Damon quickly realized was the hideous vest Matt had on.

"No, it's just some kind of fabric we had lying around…"

"You _are _wearing the drapes!" Elena said, suddenly bursting into laughter.

Damon didn't care that they were at her ex-husband's wedding reception. She was beautiful as she started laughing hysterically in front of everyone after she'd just gotten fired and gone off on her ex-husband in front of his family and friends. Every person in the background faded as he looked at her.

"Move in with me," he blurted, louder than he intended.

"What?" Elena asked, whipping her head around to look at him. "You want me to move in with you?"

"You've practically been living there anyway since—"

"Don't you think we should have a conversation about that outside of me ruining my ex's wedding reception?" Elena laughed nervously, walking up to him and taking his hand, dragging him toward the exit of the bar.

"Elena," Damon said once they were outside. She held his hand so hard her nails were digging into his hand and her chest heaved up and down. He couldn't tell if she was about to burst into tears or start screaming at him. "That's the wrong way to the car."

She let go of his hand, turning on him angrily. "You didn't have to, like, storm in there all white-horse, prince-like to rescue me from the big bad ex-husband. I could have handled the whole night on my own."

"I really don't think you could have," Damon said to her, certain she was about to start screaming at him.

"Just—ugh—come here," Elena said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him to her, kissing him so fast it made his head actually spin as he tried to wrap it around the fact that Elena was actually acting this way.

Quickly gaining his senses back, Damon kissed her back. She smelled like she'd spilled some beer on her shirt and her hair was a complete mess as he ran his fingers through it, but that only made him kiss her deeper, reminded of the way she'd gone off on Matt in The Mae Flower just moments ago.

"You are so hot when you're pissed off…" he said to her once she pulled away from him, smoothing some of her wild hair away from her face.

"I feel like I should be mad at you but it felt good yelling at Matt," Elena said. "Shit! I don't have a job now."

Damon leaned down, gave her a quick kiss. "It's okay, baby. You'll find another job. You're too good to be in that situation anymore, as much as we all love Bill, Liz, and Caroline."

"I guess so…" Elena said, sighing, "so where is the Camaro?"

"It's in my garage at home right now," Damon said, taking her hand, leading her in the opposite direction. "I was in the middle of doing some work on it when Jeremy and Grayson told me what was going on with you."

"Oh, did they drive you here? We could take my Caprice—"

"Hell no, I am not getting in that shit wagon," Damon said. "You should give it to Matt or sell it."

Elena huffed, opened her mouth to say something, but he laughed and tugged her closer.

"I drove Anna's car… come on. Alaric took Amy for the night and I plan on spending some time with you."

~.~

Elena should have been more irritated with her boyfriend, brother, and father, right?

She really should, but she was so tired of feeling angry and like she had to stand on her own two feet. She didn't tell Damon this as he drove them back to his house, but she felt relieved knowing that her dad and Jeremy were packing up her stuff right now in her room at The Mae Flower. She'd texted Jeremy a few times on the car ride to Damon's house, telling him to bring her stuff by in the morning. She wanted to spend the night alone with Damon, and had been so incredibly defeated earlier when she started working at the wedding reception she wasn't sure if she'd ever get some alone time with him.

"I almost don't know what to do now that we're alone together," Elena admitted as soon as they were in the house.

"I have a few ideas," Damon said, closing the front door, pressing her against it. His hand slipped underneath her shirt as he pressed his hips against hers. "You were so _hot _when you told Matt off."

Elena closed her eyes as his lips ghosted against her neck, heat pooling between her legs as she realized she knew exactly what Damon wanted from her. He'd wanted it for a while now but she'd kept putting it off every time because Amy was always there, a chance she would wake up and hear something.

"I was hot, huh?" Elena asked; all thoughts and feelings of anger toward him for getting her fired disappearing immediately as his hand squeezed her left breast.

"Incredibly…" Damon whispered. "Do you know how long I've wanted to get you alone, by yourself, since I found out you got divorced?"

Elena merely responded by crashing her lips against his, pulling him closer, not even caring when her teeth clashed against his as they kissed. Her hands quickly moved to his jeans as she unbuttoned them while he nudged her toward the direction of the couch. Fuck a bed, Elena decided, after he kissed her neck again just before she suggested they go up to his bedroom. It was too far. It'd been too long since she'd been with him. He sat down on the couch, reached over to flip a lamp on while Elena straddled him.

"This feels familiar," Damon smirked at her after he pulled her shirt over her head.

"Mm, only this time I'm not wearing a skirt," Elena said as she yanked up her pant legs a little so she could open her legs wider, and thrust against Damon's hard-on through his unbuckled jeans and nipped his neck. Hard.

"Jesus, Elena!" Damon hissed, stilling her by cupping her ass with his hands as he leaned up to kiss her. Kissing Damon felt intoxicating, and it made her head swim as his tongue entered her mouth. "Be careful, baby, we aren't vampires."

"Sorry…" she said, almost sheepishly as he ran his fingers through her hair in what ended up being a failed attempt to smooth it back. "We have too many clothes on."

Damon said nothing to her, just unclasped her bra in the back as she reached down and undid her jeans. She stood up to take them off, and he kicked his socks and shoes off then slid his pants down with his boxers. Elena often felt like she was punched in the gut every time she realized how much she'd missed him in the past six years and now was no exception when his erection sprang free. She slowly climbed back on top of him, helping him get his tee-shirt off—which she now noticed had grease stains and she tried not to groan about washing them out later—as she sat in his lap, not ready to let him inside of her yet.

"I missed you," Elena said, unable to keep it to herself once he was fully naked. "You're not gonna—"

Damon kissed her, forcing her to stop worrying about their past as his lips moved against hers, and all doubts dissipated, especially when his fingers slipped between her legs and he touched her clit. Elena sighed into his mouth as he moved one, then two fingers against her. She reached down and touched him, stroking her hand up and down. Damon pulled back and moaned.

"Shit. Condoms are in my room," he hissed. Elena pushed the hand he had between her legs to her hips as she gave him no verbal answer, but instead sank down. "Elena," he groaned, "we need protection, baby."

"We don't," Elena said, leaning down, kissing him again. "I'm on birth control."

He looked so handsome, Elena thought, as he groaned again and laid his head back as she moved up and down on top of him. Elena didn't want to feel corny, or overly sappy, but he felt so much better inside of her and she closed her eyes as she leaned forward and laid her head against his right shoulder.

"Hold onto me," Damon said a few moments later.

"Why?" Elena asked, even though she wrapped her arms around his shoulders anyway.

She squealed a bit when he picked her up, laid her down on the couch and then thrust into her deeply, and her squeal dissolved into a moan as he hiked one of her legs across his waist and took one of her nipples into his mouth, working her into a frenzy that resulted in an orgasm so intense her toes curled as she dug her nails into his back. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but shortly after he came with her as her second orgasm rocked through her body.

"I love you," Damon said, still not quite pulling out as he braced himself above her.

"Come here," Elena said, pulling him down, feeling the need to hold him as she tried to catch her breath. "I love you too… and yeah, I'll move in with you."

~.~

Damon had been so happy the night before when Elena told him she'd move in with him, he wasn't quite sure how he was able to keep his eyes opened as he watched her sleep. Sometime in during the night the couch had gotten a bit uncomfortable so he'd brought her upstairs.

She was moving in with him.

At the thought, Damon fought the urge to wake her up to go for another round. She'd expressly forbidden him from waking her up because she needed rest and so he groaned, burying his head into her chest as he pulled her closer.

"Damon," Elena whispered sleepily. "You're thinking too loudly."

"I'm sorry," Damon said, kissing her forehead. "Go back to sleep."

"Mm… maybe I'm just awake now," Elena said as she leaned up to kiss him.

"What the bloody hell is this?"

"Fuck," Damon said, quickly grabbing his comforter and throwing it on top of Elena's chest. "What the fuck are you doing here, Rebekah?"

* * *

This is what my writing mostly looks like untouched. I'm sure there are some grammar errors I may have missed but I wasn't looking for them, but some of you have been loyal readers/reviewers from the start when I started posting TVD fanfiction so I actually was curious about something.

I kind of need a little panel of pre-readers while I'm working on the NaNo novel. You can follow me on Twitter (anglcdmn1986) or PM me, but I was thinking about periodically sending chapters out through the month to see what you guys think since I'm going to work toward publishing _Without a Stitch_ after it's finished in December. I'm only looking at loyal readers/frequent reviewers such as scarlet2112 (of course I had to call you out, Carol :P), bellax0xchristina, and joellen808, and Kate (of course, if you can get past begging for HOH chapters :P). I had one other person say she wants to do it too. I'm not picking favorites or anything, if you don't review often that's okay too, but I want to pick people who sign reviews and who aren't afraid to give feedback. I'm not asking you to worry about grammar or anything-I cannot change anything while I'm writing it, but it'll help to have feedback as I'm writing because I'm so damn nervous for some reason.

Besides, kinda need someone to call me out if I write "frog" twenty times in a row.

LMAO anyway, yes, finally, Elena told Matt off! I want to write a longer author's note, but I have five minutes before work starts. If you come back later, the note may be longer. :)


	16. Chapter Fifteen

Please note: I have been fighting with myself not to delete a few things in this story lately, including this entire chapter. I know I told you guys there wouldn't be any fan fiction updates during NaNoWriMo.

Sorry I didn't wait for you to preread Kate! I promise you'll get to preread the next one after the craziness of November is over.

Chapter Fifteen

"Who the hell is that?" Rebekah demanded, pointing at Elena. "Is that the slut you broke up with me for?"

Damon jumped from the bed, not caring that he was stark naked as he roughly grabbed Rebekah by the shoulders and shoved her from his bedroom. He slammed the door shut and locked it while Rebekah let out a shriek and slammed her fists on the closed door.

"Elena—"

"I thought you broke up with her?" she asked, quietly.

"I did, baby, I did, I'm not sure why she's here," he said, angrily swiping a pair of jeans from his dresser. "As far as I knew, she was going to be in Italy for another four months studying abroad."

"But you _did _break up with her?" Elena asked. "Because I'm not going to—you know what," Elena said, hopping up from the bed. She reached down and picked up her clothes from the night before and started to slip them on. "I'm going to Katherine's while you deal with this."

"Elena—"

"You obviously aren't completely over yet, so I need to get out of here," she said as she slipped her shirt over her head.

"Hey," Damon said. He walked over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her down to the bed with him. "You don't get to run out on me."

Elena wouldn't look him in the eyes as he smoothed back some of her hair. Elena jumped a little as Rebekah let out a strangled "ARGH!" and Damon just wished she would go further than down just his stairs but he knew she wasn't going anywhere. For the briefest moment he wished he had handled that break up better than just doing it with her over the phone—at the time Rebekah had accused him of cheating on her—but he hadn't thought much of it because he knew she was going to be in Italy. Obviously he was wrong.

"It's over with Rebekah," he told her. "She's probably just here to get a few of her things I never got to send to her mother."

"I should really go to Katherine's," Elena said.

What the hell was wrong with her, Damon asked himself, as he continued to look at her. He sighed, gently taking her chin, making her look at him. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"It's one thing hearing that you had a girlfriend while I was gone, but—I'm being stupid." Elena said. Her breath shuddered as she released it along with the rest of her body.

"Hey," Damon said, leaning forward and kissing her quickly. "You don't have to feel stupid. You're not going anywhere either." He sighed as he looked at her big brown eyes. She wasn't crying, but she seemed like she was close to it. She still had bed-head from the night before and he just wanted to lay back down in bed with her but he had a furious blonde downstairs he had to deal with. "We have to stop trying to run away from each other, baby."

"It's just—"

"I know exactly what it is," Damon said. She was still emotional about seeing her ex-husband get married and he completely understood. "You don't have to worry about anything."

"You just…you didn't tell me much about her. I might have been prepared for this if you had told me."

Damon sighed as he thought about his relationship with Rebekah. He'd finally been trying to move on after Elena left him six years ago, but he almost wished he hadn't picked a girl that was young enough to still be an undergraduate in college to do it.

"I'll explain a little more about after I get rid of her," he said, standing, walking over to his closet. "Please don't go anywhere, though."

Elena sighed, flopping back down onto the bed as she yawned. "It's too early to freak out over relationship crap. Don't take too long."

~.~

Elena tried to tell herself she should be worried as she heard voices trail upstairs as she lied in Damon's bed, that she should leave, that there was a chance that with his ex-girlfriend coming back, that Damon might actually be thinking about going back to her. She kept her eyes closed as she focused on breathing and told herself she didn't have anything to worry about even though she felt the overwhelming urge to go over to her sister's house until Rebekah was gone.

But then she thought about last night, when Damon asked her to move in with him in front of Matt's entire wedding party. How he took her home, made love to her on the couch, and became so thrilled when he told her how happy he was that she agreed to move in with him. How he told her he loved her by whispering the words against her skin as he made love to her again in the bed and the urge to run from him went away, just slightly. Damon had changed, and she had changed, and this bed wasn't just his anymore. It was hers she realized, as he was rose his voice as he told Rebekah she needed to get the hell out of their house.

Something swirled in her stomach, akin to what Elena had always called butterflies when he slammed the door two seconds later. Damon still had the ability to do that to her, to make her skin flush and her stomach swirl and to make her breathe just a little faster when she thought about him.

She heard him open the bedroom door and then close it quietly as it clicked shut and she kept her eyes closed even after he pulled back the covers and climbed back into bed. She sighed when he pulled her into his arms and she asked herself again why she had let herself stay away from him for so damn long.

"Are you okay, Elena?"

He wrapped his arm around her waist and laced his fingers with one of her hands as she took in a deep breath, releasing it slowly, telling herself he hadn't expected Rebekah to barge in on them no more than she had.

"Can I trust you?" she finally asked, opening her eyes, looking into his blue ones when she asked the question.

"Of course you can…" Damon said.

"I really want to be able to trust you, because I don't know what I would do if something happened between us that caused you to break up with me all of a sudden without much explanation."

Realization dawned on Damon's face as Elena looked at him, and she knew he knew she put two and two together when she realized one of the reasons Rebekah had looked so pissed off was that he broke up with her on the telephone.

"Elena, if you're worried about me doing what I did when we were younger—"

Elena sat up a little and turned toward him. "I am, okay? I'm pretty damn terrified. I don't need to know about what your relationship was like with Rebekah. I just need to be sure you aren't going to cheat on me or anything."

"I'm not your douche bag ex-husband," Damon said. "You want to know what happened between me and Bekah? A lot of sex, and then she moved to Italy for her study abroad thing."

"Are you telling me you weren't that serious about her?" Elena asked.

"Hell no, I wasn't that serious about her."

"Okay," Elena said, sitting up all the way, "then how can I be sure we—" she pointed between the two of them, "aren't moving too fast? We've barely been together a month and I'm already moving in with you."

"You didn't seem to have a problem doing that with Matt," Damon said, sitting up too, as he glared at her.

"That's low," Elena said, throwing covers from around her legs and standing up.

"I—shit, Elena," Damon said, standing up quickly. He caught Elena before she could leave his bedroom.

"Let go of me," Elena said, "I don't want to—"

Damon cut her off, pulling her close to him as he kissed her. Elena didn't respond to him, too pissed off by what he had implied about how fast she married Matt when she was eighteen.

"Listen," Damon said, "can we please not fight? I was so happy this morning that you agreed to move in with me," he ran his hand down her right arm, and Elena cursed herself when she felt herself leaning into her touch. "We're not moving too fast, baby."

"You're sure we're not moving too fast?" she found herself giving in when he led her back to the bed, her voice soft.

"No," Damon said. They sat back down on the edge of the bed but he didn't do anything to try to get her to lie back down with him. "Moving too fast would be throwing your ass over my shoulder and dragging you to the court house to get married."

Elena rolled her eyes and threw herself back onto the bed. "You're not a cave man," she said. She huffed. "It's too early to fight with you. Can we go back to sleep?"

Well, Elena thought as she looked at Damon's digital clock on his dresser, it was almost eight in the morning but they'd been up all night doing far more fun than sleep.

"For once Elena Gilbert isn't going to cause a massive fight?" Damon asked through a yawn.

Elena shook her head, crawling back to her side of the bed as she righted the blankets with him. "I can't keep fighting you," she said as he laid down to her and pulled her into his arms. "If we keep fighting then we'll never get anywhere and it'll just make us miserable. I fell in love with you… and I just need to trust that what we're doing is right for us finally."

Damon said nothing to her, only kissed her on the top of her head, pulling their comforter over them. "I promise you don't have to worry about Rebekah. I never loved her… not like I love you."

Elena closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. "Were you just joking about hauling me to the court house?" she asked after a few minutes, unsure as to whether he'd fallen back asleep or not, but she had to ask.

"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't think about it occasionally," Damon said quietly.

"So you want to get married," she said, her heart slamming in her chest a little at the thought, as she looked up at him.

"I do, Elena. It's like you said, if we hadn't been stupid, we would have been by now… but I'm not going to take this fast. We're going to take our time, even though you are living with me now. I think Matt is an asshole for never giving you a real wedding, so even though I have thought about eloping, we're not going to do that."

Elena only responded by kissing him, placing one of his hands on her hip as she lost herself in him again.

~.~

"What! No, T.J.!"

Her sister gave Elena a look as Caroline sat on the fifth step between the first and second floor of Katherine and Elijah's house. They were waiting for her to finish a phone call but Elena wasn't sure if she wanted to stay around to actually have a conversation with Caroline after what happened at The Mae Flower. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say to her, because if she was going to be honest with herself, she was embarrassed about the way she had gone off in front of Matt and lost her job in front of a good majority of the town who had been happy for the happy married couple. She was embarrassed, but she wasn't ashamed of the way she finally stood up for herself. Damon had shown her in several ways how proud of her he was too.

She hadn't wanted to but she finally had to let him get up for the day because he had to finish working on his Camaro. She'd stayed with him the whole time, which had been all of fifteen minutes before he groaned and realized he had to go to work because he needed to get some work done for the day. Alaric had texted him several times that morning, too, asking him when he was going to get Amy. Elena had offered to do so, but Damon told her he'd promised his niece some quality Uncle Damon time when he was done working.

"I swear to god if you tell Klaus and Hayley where I am then you're going to regret it," Caroline hissed loud enough Elena and Katherine could still here her.

"Who's Klaus?" Katherine mouthed to her. Elena shrugged, totally unaware over what was going on with her blond friend. Elena hadn't even known Caroline ever knew T.J.

"Do you think she's talking to Amy's ex, T.J.?" Elena mouthed back.

Katherine quickly held her finger up, as if to signal to Elena to hold that thought as she ran into the kitchen.

Morning sickness looked like it was a bitch, Elena thought, as she looked down into her tea.

"Amy's gone," Caroline hissed. "Don't do anything that is going to land you into jail again. I'm done with this conversation, T.J. Just let it go."

Caroline stomped down the steps and flung herself onto a chair across from the living room couch as she shook her head and shoved her phone into her pocket.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Elena looked down at her tea, focusing on the way the steam moved around the cup intensely as she did anything other than say something to her friend even though she had the burning desire to ask her what the hell T.J. wanted on the phone.

Caroline suddenly started laughing, and it did the trick, making Elena look at her in confusion.

"What's so funny, Caroline?" Elena asked as Katherine came into the living room with a pot holder and tea pot. She sat both items in the middle of them on the coffee table.

"You actually told Matt off for leaving you, and you quit your job."

Elena groaned. "Don't remind me. Why did I even agree to spend time with the both of you today?"

"It's because you love me," Caroline grinned.

"Why was T.J. on the phone?" Elena asked her.

"You moved in with Damon," Caroline said, completely avoiding her question. Is it just as huge as you remember it?" Caroline grinned at her. "His—"

Elena's cheeks flushed. "Caroline!" she cried, grabbing a couch pillow and throwing it across the room at her best friend's face.

"Well I for one," Katherine said, obviously deciding to forget the T.J. thing, as she laughed along with Caroline, "am glad the two of you finally got your crap together."

"Don't worry about my dad," Caroline said. "I really gave him a strict talking to last night. What do you think you're going to do now?"

Elena sighed as she thought about it. "Well, there is something. I haven't told anyone about it yet."

"What is it?" Katherine asked, reaching for a ginger snap on the coffee table.

Elena reached for her tote, paused, and then shook her head and grabbed it. She rifled around in it for a few minutes before she reached for the black three-subject notebook. Caroline and Katherine looked at her curiously when she opened it and showed them.

"I've been writing for a long time, but I don't think anyone really knew. I applied for a graduate school that offers a low-residency creative writing program back in Kentucky because even though I would love to become a family therapist, I think it would only just be hard to work with other people."

"Kentucky?" Katherine asked. "If got in you wouldn't be able to stay in Virginia."

"No way am I letting you move again—"

"No no," Elena said, cutting Caroline off. "Did you forget the part where I mentioned it's a low residency? I don't have to live in Kentucky to be a part of the program. I got in—I'm getting an MFA in Creative Writing."

~.~

"Be careful around those tires, Amy," Alaric said with a laugh a while after Damon got to the garage.

"You're surprisingly good with my niece," Damon said to Alaric. "It's scary, bro," he said as he pulled an old fuel pump from an S10.

"Why the hell—"

"Language, man," Damon said.

Alaric clenched his jaw as he seemed to think about what he wanted to say. "I'm no better than you and Elena are with her. She's a relatively easy kid to take care of."

Damon burst out laughing as he pulled the new fuel pump from a box. "I'll let you see if you're still saying that after you take a nap while she's still awake."

Alaric didn't say anything to that, and Damon thought it was odd but he didn't say anything. He was still tired and he wanted nothing more than to take Amy home but he had to finish some of his work for the day, which included finishing this fuel pump change and then putting the bed of the truck back onto it.

"How is Amy doing, anyway?" Alaric finally asked. "With her mother not being around?"

"She's doing better than I thought she would," Damon said honestly. "We all miss Anna but Amy managed to bounce back, mostly… Elena being there has helped me. I can't wait to see her face when I tell her about the M-O-V-E."

Amy stopped in front of the truck, her black hair sticking up in several weird places because neither man really knew how to put her hair up in a ponytail. She'd protested when Damon tried to redo it as soon as he saw it and complained when he told her Elena couldn't come fix it for her. She threw a little hand on her hip as she looked between both men.

She looked so much like Anna Damon had to do a double take and look down quickly, unwilling to let his best friend or niece to see how much he still really missed his sister.

"Mommy used to talk around me like I'm a grown up," Amy said to them. "She never spelled words or messed my hair up because she didn't know how to fix it." She let off a little huff as she reached up for her hair. "I'm almost six, Uncle Damon."

"Christ on a cracker, you've gotten big."

Amy, Damon, and Alaric all whipped their heads around to see a tall, thin man with a cigarette between his lips. He had shaggy black hair and a Godsmack shirt on with jeans that had ripped holes in the knees and a duffle bag thrown around his shoulder.

"…Daddy?" Amy asked hesitantly.

Damon shot up to his feet, clenching his hands together as he quickly hoped over a few boxes and tools and shoved Amy behind Alaric.

"What the hell are you doing here, T.J.?" Damon asked. So much for not swearing in front of Amy, he thought. "You're not allowed to cross the Canadian border into the US."

"Isn't obvious, asshole?" T.J. said, taking a puff from his cigarette. "I'm here to take my daughter back since her mother was a stupid bitch and killed herself."

~.~

Notes:

Okay, I'm sorry that this chapter is a little sorter than usual but I couldn't help but leave the chapter with T.J. coming back. There are a few things that might confuse you (namely the conversation with Caroline about Hayley and Klaus) but that is because I need to also start setting a few things in motion for the next story/companion piece to this story. Remember, please, that this is original work even though I'm posting it under the TVD section of the website. I probably won't post Mae (yes, that is actually the character's name)/Caroline's story on FFN when I start writing it, but I will try to make it make sense as much as possible as she's willing to let Elena know in the upcoming chapters. This story is focused on Damon/Elena's (I'll go ahead and tell you all their names are actually Brandon and Elise) love story. An old family friend of mom's keeps telling me I need to stop writing fan fiction and focus on original work and self-publishing on Amazon and that's what I'll be doing when I start working on _The Mae Flower_ after CG is finished (although a few of you girls have been pre-reading my NaNo novel for me and your feedback has been so amazing I might do the same thing with TMF as I am with WS).

Anyway, I hope you liked the update. You may not get another one for a while since I am actually moving to my Mom's and I've got to keep at it with NaNoWriMo (25,000 words in 9 days! MY MUSE IS INSANE). The whole thing with Rebekah wasn't ever meant to be blown out of proportion and while I feel like this chapter still needs a lot of work, I am in NaNoWriMo mode, and I won't let myself edit it too much until after the month is over. I've got to get back to working on _Without a Stitch, _and I'll probably revise this in December as well.

Please be sure to review! Remember, I worked on this for you guys when I said I wouldn't. :) Please, please don't hesitate to give me detailed feedback. Kinda thrive on it!


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